A Mystery Beyond Science: A Kerbal Mystery Thriller (Ch. 42: Almost There)

[roboslacker]

Hmm. You know, I'm getting suspicious of Irpond. She has the technical know-how to hack a munjet and a potential motive; getting justice for Debra.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

51 minutes ago, roboslacker said:

She has the technical know-how to hack a munjet

Maybe, but you have to be directly plugged into the moonjet to even see the operation code - let alone mess with it. That's why Gus and Linus' imposter needed Hadgan to insert the virus; s/he couldn't do it remotely.

• Laythe doesn't have any moonjets (but some of Jool's OTHER moons do) - since you can fly air-breathing planes in there.
  • Assuming you can even get them to Laythe.
• So far, no indication that she crossed paths with Danlong before Moonjet 79's crash. Then again, we haven't got a detailed look of the list of Laythe personnel who were ever on Dres.
  • SPOILER ALERT: Bob and Sheri are on that list. No surprise there since they first met on Dres.

 

54 minutes ago, roboslacker said:

potential motive; getting justice for Debra.

Debra died 28 years ago (the Famous Four - Jeb, Bill, Bob, and Val - were children at the time), and it was IRPOND'S MOTHER who was accused (and acquitted). Assuming Irpond DID hack the moonjets, why?

• Harriet may have been just a test run, but Agaden? She's too young to have sabotaged that car.
  • Agaden wasn't even born yet.
• Additionally, why pick HADGAN to do her dirty work instead of anybody else, like Jeb?
• How did she know to hack Moonjet 314?
  • And why pin the crash on Jeb?

[Nivee~]

On 1/17/2019 at 9:34 AM, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

“So… MJ, fire up…,”

♪♪Amy are you Ok? Amy are you Ok, are you Ok AMY?

You been hit by, you been struck by.... a smooth criminal~♪♪

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

1 hour ago, Nivee~ said:

♪♪Amy are you Ok? Amy are you Ok, are you Ok AMY?

You been hit by, you been struck by.... a smooth criminal~♪♪

"MJ" is actually short for MechJeb (and I know it's Michael Jackson's initials). Also, Michael Jackson says "Annie" in his song - but at his singing speed one can easily mistake it for "Amy." 

 

Great song, by the way. Why'd you pick that one @Nivee~?

[Nivee~]

1 minute ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

"MJ" is actually short for MechJeb (and I know it's Michael Jackson's initials). Also, Michael Jackson says "Annie" in his song - but at his singing speed one can easily mistake it for "Amy." 

 

Great song, by the way. Why'd you pick that one @Nivee~?

I knew MJ means MechJeb, I just couldn't help it when I saw "MJ, Fire up."

And Whhooops! My Bad, Annie it is!  I heard it quite some time ago, it was my introduction to MJ's music 

 

[roboslacker]

3 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

Maybe, but you have to be directly plugged into the moonjet to even see the operation code - let alone mess with it. That's why Gus and Linus' imposter needed Hadgan to insert the virus; s/he couldn't do it remotely.

That's the other thing: given her proficiency with a K-pad, I think she could spoof an email easily enough. Not to mention that she just happens to be where the message was sent from, if my memories serves me right. From what I've picked up, it seems that the suspicion on her mother was a constant source of stress during Irpond's childhood, so it is plausible that she has a desire to set the matter straight, possibly through vigilante justice. But on the other hand, I don't see how that would connect to Agaden. Unless her real target was on moonjet 79...

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

11 minutes ago, roboslacker said:

That's the other thing: given her proficiency with a K-pad, I think she could spoof an email easily enough. Not to mention that she just happens to be where the message was sent from, if my memories serves me right.

Yes, you remember correctly. The spoofed emails were sent from Poseidon's Palace, where she was at the time.

 

12 minutes ago, roboslacker said:

Unless her real target was on moonjet 79

If Irpond was seeking vigilante justice, I highly doubt that the culprit was on Moonjet 79. For starters, since the murder happened 28 years ago, the killer's most likely at least 50 by now - which means s/he's probably still in Kerbin's SOI. Irpond also had to be on Dres to have sabotaged Moonjet 79 - or had an accomplice/pawn do it for her.

• Harriet was Val's student before she died, which means that, at the time of Debra's murder, Harriet was either a SMALL CHILD or had NOT BEEN BORN YET.
• Alva was in a coma after the crash and survived; she's currently back on Kerbin. How come she's alive?
  • Why wasn't she poisoned before the flight - or killed while in a coma.
    • It shouldn't have been hard to pin it on medical complications/malpractice.
  • (Assuming Alva was alive and physically and mentally capable of murder 28 years ago) why didn't Irpond just tell someone that Alva committed murder and framed her mom?
    • Even if Mission Control blew her off, she could have mentioned that to Bob.
      • And even then, Alva's file should have that complaint on her record that Val accessed (just like Danlong's dropped extortion complaints)
• Where does Danlong fit in this scheme? Since we established that Harriet was too young to have killed Debra, why didn't Danlong PREVENT Alva from getting an EVA suit.
  • If Danlong was the murderer and Alva was Irpond's partner, why didn't Alva mentioned that DANLONG hit her (remember, she didn't name names after waking up from that coma)
    • No evidence/testimony of a fight in the accident report
• If an occupant on 79 was the target, why crash 314 later - or trick Hadgan into poisoning Agaden?
  • Even if the killer was on Dres, why not just toss him/her out an airlock or puncture his/her oxygen tank. Why endanger innocent people in the process? 

 

40 minutes ago, roboslacker said:

it seems that the suspicion on her mother was a constant source of stress during Irpond's childhood

I see your point. Don't forget that Irpond's mother SHOT AND KILLED her husband (Irpond's dad, who was also Debra's boyfriend before she died). The cops ruled it self-defense, but the surrounding populace still had suspicions of her (Check Ch. 9). Mother under suspicion plus dead father (thanks to that mother) would really be stressful on a little girl.

• Even if she was seeking Debra's REAL killer, why didn't she just tell Bob or anyone else that she wanted to find him/her?
• Irpond was helping Bob piece together the clues to Val's guilt for SHERI'S murder, but never mentioned Debra until explaining why she had to steal Wally's RTG.
  • She was brave enough to mention her mom was kidnapped by Val's gang and forced Irpond to steal the RTG.

 

Another question you might want to ask yourself: are the moonjet deaths and recent Laythe murders connected? How so?

[roboslacker]

I've been re-reading some of the earlier stuff, and I just noticed a conection between the prolouque and story

On 1/16/2019 at 11:04 PM, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

After finding an oil-stained shirt Misty’s size in the garbage near the vehicle assembly building, they executed a search warrant in Misty’s quarters and found a shrine centered around Debra’s then-boyfriend, a pilot named Dilford.

In chapter 7, something similiar was found in Wenpont's room, who also appears to have been framed.

Also, both the rover crash and the moonjet crashes were a result of interferance with the controls. Of course, the manner of interferance was completely differant for the two, but the conspiracy appears to be aping the accident. On the other hand, this is all pretty weak.

Anyway, we still need to find out what Agaden knew.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

12 minutes ago, roboslacker said:

In chapter 7, something similiar was found in Wenpont's room, who also appears to have been framed.

You're right. Just like Misty did 28 years ago, Wenpont had a stalker shrine. Both of them made it look like Misty and Wenpont were obsessed with the victims' boyfriends.

• MISTY - (allegedly) killed Debra to have Dilford all to herself
  • Only to end up shooting him dead years later.
• WENPONT - (allegedly) killed Sheri to get Bob
  • Then destroyed the Zeus to kill Val - or someone else who was on it.

 

However, VAL later got arrested for killing Sheri (and most of the Zeus crew) and framing Wenpont. Her most likely motive: covering for her brother. If there's a pattern here, then perhaps Misty knew something the real killer didn't want known. 

• Makes you wonder if Debra's killer could be one of Val's PARENTS, if the pattern remains consistent.
• If Val was following orders from Mission Control, the ones responsible should have been arrested.
  • After all, Gus and Linus' emails were searched after Roger was tipped off about Hadgan getting tricked.

 

There's also the subject of Misty's house fire. If I wasn't writing this with a set plan in mind, I'd find it hard to believe that an out-of-control suborbital toy rocket designed by a high-school-aged Bill could have caused it.

• There was a greater chance of missing the intended target completely (aerodynamic forces, loss of control, miscalculated trajectory, etc) if you launch from Baikerbanur to Woomerang.
  • Bill was targeting the house, but only intended to drop a remote-controlled toy spy car in it to "see why it was so forbidden anyway."
• Secondly, don't you think the arson investigators would have noticed where the debris hit (Irpond mentioned craters on the walls)?
  • Also, why was there no mention of space junk? If a piece was hot enough to ignite something flammable, they should have seen that at the ignition point.
• Even if the payload would hit the target as planned, Bill lost contact during re-entry. It can be reasonably assumed that the rocket broke into pieces at that point and decreased the landing precision.
  • Don't forget that the parts are no longer on fire after a certain altitude on Kerbin re-entry. 
• Bill mentioned a faulty furnace was blamed for it.
  • Why did Misty have a MAN-SIZED furnace anyway?

 

What do you all think? Was Misty's fire an accident or arson? Why?

[roboslacker]

By the way, how long is a kerbal's lifespan in this story?

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

Average Kerbal Life Span = 270 Kerbal Years:

• Average Human Life Span = 79 years
• { (24 * 365 = HOURS IN A HUMAN YEAR) / (6 * 426 = HOURS IN KERBAL YEAR) } * (79 human years) = 270.751 Kerbal Years

 

Kerbals are still considered adults as soon as they turn 21 (in kerbal years), but they have extended life spans that match the same time as ours.

• @Matt Lowne made an SSTO mission that took 84 years. If that was in human years, all the occupants would have died (most likely from old age).
  • 84 kerbal years = 24.51 human years

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

CHAPTER TWELVE: A KILLER AIRLINE

 

“Okay, ladies and gentlemen,” said the blonde-haired woman standing in front of the chalkboard. “Can one of you describe how to determine the radius of a planet’s sphere of influence?” One of the boys raised his hand and drew on the chalkboard.

“You multiply the planet’s semi-major axis by the planet’s mass divided by the star’s mass to the two-fifths power,” explained the boy.

“Correct, Ron,” said the teacher, then the bell rang. “Don’t forget your delta-V maps are due by Monday. Show your work.” As soon as the students left, she received a message on her kPad. “I wonder who that could be.”

Hello, Sally.
It’s Bob Kerman, remember me (from school)?
	Bob, it’s been years.
How’s it going? Where are you?
	Great. I’m now an astrophysics teacher in Woomerang.
	-       We have a new “rocket science” curriculum here for interested students.
I thought you’d go to the Big Leagues. Val told me you were in her cadre during Basic
	Meh, pays more here. Plus, I’m married with a kid.
Great for you.
I had a girlfriend.
	What happened? You break up?
Sheri was murdered over a month ago.
	Sorry to hear that. I hope they catch the killer.
They did, it was Val
	Never trust a Badger.
	I thought she’d blow up my rocket once.
You remember what happened to Misty Kerman’s house 21 years ago?
	I remember my parents telling me never to go there as a kid.
	The fire was all over the news.
Until recently, we had no idea what may have caused it.
	I thought it was from a faulty furnace
That you can stuff a large man inside
	How do you know about that?
My brother and I checked it out once – BEFORE it burned down
Anyway, a few days ago, Bill and I thought his model rocket caused it.
	He launched a missile at it from Baikerbanur?
No, it was a toy car – but Bill lost control during re-entry and the rocket broke apart.
However, he and I now doubt it started the fire.
	What makes you think that?
1)    Unless the building was not up to code, it shouldn’t have ignited upon impact even if the parts were hot. 2)    Misty’s daughter (a software engineer who’s on-base with me) reported craters on the walls. If the debris had enough kinetic energy to penetrate the walls, it could have caught something flammable INSIDE – but then the arson investigators should have noticed. 3)    There was a greater chance of the rocket debris missing the target completely after loss of control. After all, parts were recovered months later in the ocean.   -       Bill said all those, not me.
	So, why are you talking to me?
You’re the only person I know on Kerbin who can clear this up for me.
	Ooh, another awesome science project
You can say that.
	I’m in. What do I do?
1. Email me the following documents: -       Reports on Misty’s fire -       Schematics of the house -       3D satellite view of the house (and its coordinates) right before the fire.
2. Fly to Baikerbanur and ask for William Kerman – Bill’s dad. He has the blueprints for Bill’s rocket and its mission log -       Bill’s paying for your plane tickets there and back.
3. Reconstruct the rocket on Baikerbanur and have it launch at similar weather and temperature conditions as the day in question. -       Target Misty’s house
4. Track the debris down to 5 cm size. Be sure to get the temperature and velocity of the junk too
(Basically, you’re doing the same thing Bill did – only you’re recording the heck out of everything)
5. Fire projectiles of similar composition and size at the same velocity and temperature at replicas of the walls/roof. -       My hypothesis is that Bill’s rocket didn’t start the fire because the material is (or shouldn’t be) non-flammable. However, there’s also a chance that the debris penetrated the walls/roof and ignited something inside that WAS flammable -       Even then, the arson investigators should have seen that.
	Sounds like a field trip to me. I’ll see if I can get my class to go too.
Excellent. Bill will email you more detailed instructions and the confirmation for your plane tickets (yours)
I didn’t anticipate you wanting to bring your class with you. You’ll have to take it up with the staff if you want to bring them.
	I will, all right.

 

As soon as Sally was done preparing her room for the next day, she accessed Chirper and posted a screenshot of a part of her conversation with Bob – specifically, the part where Val was implicated for Sheri’s murder. It was no secret that Sally and Val were fierce rivals during Basic; besides the fact that they were from enemy schools, they competed to be the best in their cadre and become the first woman in space. While Sally got the best astrophysics and piloting scores, Val bested her physically and won that race.

Even though that competition died over a decade ago, Sally couldn’t pass this opportunity to get back at Val. She didn’t think Bob was lying, as he and Val were friends during – and since – Basic. However, as soon as she hit the post button, she saw that people were already calling Val a murderer; photographs and videos of her arrest at Poseidon’s Palace were viral on Kerbnet. Sally then locked the doors behind her and grabbed her things before heading to the main office.

“Hey, boss!” she shouted from 20 meters away, then a man turned around.

“Hi, Sally,” said Evan, the principal.

“I just had this idea of a new field trip,” suggested Sally before telling Evan about the experiment.

“Why do you want to know if a toy rocket burned down some old house?” asked Evan.

“I don’t, Bob does,” answered Sally, “and so does his friend, Bill.”

“Bob… we’re not talking about that boy who went to the lab coat dance with you, are we?” asked Evan.

“That’s him.”

“I remember him,” sighed Evan. “He tried to make a cologne that made him attractive to girls, but all he was able to attract was electroshock.”

“So THAT’S how he electrocuted himself in gym class,” Sally realized. “So, am I good?”

“First show me detailed instructions, then we’ll talk.”

 

A week later, Sally was at Woomerang Airport with her class ready to board their plane to Baikerbanur. While waiting for Bill’s instructions, she acquired the reports on Misty’s fire and the schematics for her house – which also had the geographic location where it was built. When Evan read over the instructions, he and Sally talked it over and decided to make a weekend field trip out of this experiment. More specifically, a part class would miss a day or two of school – depending on how long it took – and spend the weekend in Baikerbanur assembling the rocket and launching it. When it was time to launch, another part of the class would get outside and use high-powered long-range sensors to detect the velocity and trajectory – and, hopefully, the calculated re-entry temperature – to determine where the debris would hit.

“Flight LA8202, Flight LA8202… t-minus five minutes until boarding.”

“Sound off,” ordered Sally, then the students gave their assigned numbers. “Great, everyone’s here.”

“Excuse me, mam,” said a flight attendant who approached Sally. “You’re with the student group, right?”

“Yes,” said Sally.

“I’m afraid we’re overbooked,” she told Sally.

“What?” gasped Sally. “Why are you telling me this.”

“Since you and your group booked at the last minute, we’ll have to boot you out of this flight,” the attendant said. “However, we are willing to put you and all your students on the next flight to Baikerbanur. If you decline, we will provide full compensation.”

“We’d better get on that next flight,” Sally warned the attendant, “for your sake.”

“Is that a threat?”

“If you lie, it’s YOUR JOB that’s at stake here,” clarified Sally.

“Okay, I’ll work it out for you,” stammered the attendant as she notified her coworkers to book Sally’s class on the next flight to Baikerbanur.

“Mrs. Sally… I got a bad feeling about this,” warned a girl.

“Brenda, we’ll be fine,” assured Sally. “As long as we follow basic safety procedures, nobody should get hurt during rocket assembly and liftoff.”

“Yeah, but… I’m not so sure about the plane.”

“Relax, it’s Lowne Airlines,” sighed Sally. “Those things have been tested many times, and they only fly the best ones.”

 

“This is LA8202 to tower, ascending to 15 kilometers altitude,” said the pilot after he adjusted his heading. He was in a supersonic box-winged airliner with six turbo ramjet jet engines mounted to the wings. The aerodynamic construction and powerful engines – which were typically used in hypersonic planes – were enough to take 68 occupants around the world.

“Roger that, LA8202,” said the control tower. “Happy hunting.” The pilot then began his ascent through the clouds.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are ascending to our cruising altitude of 15 kilometers. Please remain in your seats with your seatbelts fastened until the signs have turned off.” Everything went smoothly for several minutes before a man started to panic.

“What the heck’s going on?” he gasped. “The plane’s breaking up.”

“No, it’s not,” said the steward next to him. “That’s just the shock wave; it happens all the time.”

“Oh… never mind.” All was silent until the plane leveled out, then the seat belt signs were turned off.

“Smooth sailing,” sighed the pilot, keeping both hands on the joystick. “To the left, you can see… what?” Suddenly, he noticed the plane banking to the left. He tried to correct it, but it was no use; soon the plane was upside down. “Uh… we may have a problem.” He then hit the seatbelt sign switch, but there was no indication that it turned on. “Everyone fasten your seatbelts.” The pilot then tried to stop the barrel rolls and sudden descent, but all his attempts were useless. “Mayday! Mayday! I’ve lost control of the aircraft! Repeat, I’ve lost control of the aircraft!”

“I’m sorry, pilot,” said a creepy robotic voice. “I can’t let you reach Baikerbanur.”

“MJ?” he gasped. “I thought they REMOVED those things from airliners.”

“I’m not MechJeb,” the voice replied. “The difference is I am PROGRAMMED to kill you.”

“KILL ME?! Who are you? What do you want?”

“To let a sleeping dog lie.”

“30 seconds to impact!” warned the computer.

“All right, what can we do to keep you from crashing the plane?” begged the pilot. “Just tell me.”

“One of your passengers needs to die. To ensure that she does, no survivors.”

“She? Who is she?”

“I can’t tell you. Like I said… NO survivors.”

“20 seconds to impact.”

“Okay, that’s it!” said the pilot as he lifted a plastic cover and pressed a red button on the control panel.

“Cabin ejection failed.”

“Don’t think I haven’t accounted for that,” the robotic voice said.

“Oh, yeah. Did you account for this?” The pilot unbuckled his seat belt and jumped for a covered red switch that was at the back of the cockpit. “Try MANUAL.” He broke the glass with a nearby hammer and pulled the switch. Much to his surprise, he didn’t see, hear, or feel any indication that the cabin ejected.

“Let me guess, it didn’t work.”

“What kind of terrorist are you?” asked the pilot in shock.

“The untouchable kind.”

 

“Valentina Kerman,” said Lieutenant General Philzer Kerman, who was the presiding officer of the court martial, “you are charged with the following offenses: eight counts of murder in the first degree, two counts of kidnapping in the first degree, three counts of sabotage in the first degree, two counts felony larceny in the first degree, one count extortion in the first degree, and one count unwilful drugging in the third degree.”

“Man, there sure are a lot of first degrees,” commented Ersen.

“How do you plead?”

“Not guilty, sir,” answered Val’s lawyer, Attirick.

“Prosecutor,” said Philzer, addressing Ersen.

“Remand, your Honor,” requested Ersen. “Given the quantity and severity of the charges against her and her high clearance, she has adequate means, motive, and opportunity to flee.”

“Please,” sighed Attirick, “these charges are all bogus. This is nothing more than a political witch hunt driven by some whiny zealots.”

“Witch hunt?” gasped Ersen.

“Your Honor, her brother is facing backlash for the death of the Clivar tribe,” started Attirick, “The people just want another head on a platter, so they pick his LITTLE SISTER.”

“Your client ordered someone kidnapped and forced her victim’s daughter to steal an RTG,” reminded Ersen. “Under the law, that makes VAL culpable.”

“Misty Kerman, ha,” chuckled Attirick. “It’s a matter of public record that she got away with murder 28 years ago, and she shot her husband.”

“It is also a matter of public record that the shooting was self-defense,” said Ersen. “What does this have to do with the charges against VAL?”

“Goes to the witness’ credibility,” explained Attirick. “How can you be sure that Val kidnapped Misty Kerman if Misty is a slippery criminal?”

“In the eyes of the law, she’s not.”

“Save it for the cross-exams,” said the judge.

“Your honor, Misty Kerman is back on Kerbin,” continued Attirick. “Unless she’s present for cross-exams, she will be violating my client’s right to a speedy and public trial. And furthermore, if my client DID order her kidnapped, then who are HER PARTNERS?”

“Interesting question,” said Philzer. “Captain?”

“They are yet to be identified,” explained Ersen. “Misty claimed to have escaped her captors, but she was too shaken to name names.”

“Escaped and too shaken, or was NEVER kidnapped and is LYING.”

“Cool it, Attirick. Bail is set at 250 grand; once bail is set, she will surrender her clearance and be confined to base,” ordered Philzer before banging his gavel.

“Suck it, Val!” spat Wenpont.

“Miss, don’t poke the bear,” advised Philzer as the guards walked Val out of the room in cuffs. Three minutes later, Val was ordered to change into a prison uniform before being thrown in the brig.

“Better get cozy,” said the guards as they locked Val’s door. “You’re going to be spending the rest of your life here – however short that may be.”

“They green-lit the death penalty?” gasped Val.

“You deserve it, you’re a serial killer,” spat the guard before turning away.

“You can’t believe I did this!” shouted Val.

“Don’t make me gas your room!” warned a guard. “If it were up to me, I’d replace the canisters with mustard gas.”

“Can it, private,” ordered another guard. “She has a visitor.”

“Her attorney?”

“No, a civilian.”

“Fine.” Val then saw Bob escorted to her cell door. “You get five minutes.”

“Okay, sir,” said Bob, turning to Val. “Why’d you do it?”

“The real question is why did YOU leak the files EARLY?” responded Val.

“I didn’t leak the files, someone else did,” answered Bob. “I thought it was Wenpont, but she DENIED it.”

“Why should I trust you? You’re the only other person here who has them,” reminded Val.

“You cherry-picked the parts where you sabotaged the Zeus and killed Sheri, why should I trust YOU?” said Bob.

“Cherry-picked? I didn’t remove ANYTHING,” denied Val

“Then why give me the files in the first place, OR ask me to even leak the contents? It implicated your brother in a heinous crime.”

“I told you to leak them in case I DON’T RETURN… or if someone tries to steal them from you,” clarified Val.

“Why’d you kill Sheri?” asked Bob. “ANSWER ME!”

“I didn’t,” said Val.

“LIAR!” yelled Bob angrily. “You knew Vic’s secret all along… and you were planning to kill me!”

“I was in Jool orbit when your girlfriend died,” said Val. “Talk to the survivors, they’ll say yes.”

“Bull!”

“That’s it, I’m running out of patience,” sighed Val. “GUARDS!”

“Okay, sir,” a guard told Bob. “Time to go.”

“I’m gonna get to the bottom of this,” said Bob. “When I do, I’ll see to it that your execution’s BOTCHED!” He left the brig angrily, then he saw Irpond standing outside. “Whoa… you freaked me out back there.”

“You were pretty loud down in the brig,” said Irpond. “Just how do you want her to die?”

“Hmm, let’s see… I’d throw her into an active air intake large enough for her to fit through,” sighed Bob as he and Irpond walked away. “I’d also stick her in a rocket engine feet first and ignite it… or just toss her in space without a suit.”

“Ooh, a ‘walk the plank’ execution,” smirked Irpond. “You’d really wish that on your own friend?”

“Friends don’t murder their friends’ girlfriends… or lie to each other… about it,” said Bob. “Besides, she’s a Badger and I’m a Wolverine; she’s closer to Jeb and Bill than me.”

“Really… I’m a Wolverine too,” remarked Irpond. “Small world.”

“I don’t… remember you from school,” said Bob.

“You probably wouldn’t. I was a few years below you.”

“Okay. I thought you may have moved away after the fire,” thought Bob.

“Speaking of, how’s it going?”

“Last I heard, Sally got her class a field trip to Baikerbanur,” answered Bob. “Bill already emailed his dad telling him Sally’s coming.”

“Eesh… I don’t know, Bob,” stammered Irpond. “I heard that something tragic happened there.”

“Tragic?” asked Bob. “What?”

“I… think it’s just rumors, but a plane crashed that was carrying a student group from Woomerang,” said Irpond, and Wally came rushing to Bob.

“What is it, buddy?” he asked, then Wally led him to the rec room – where several kerbals were gathered around the television. “What’s going on?”

“Shh, we just got this,” said Melburry.

“I’m here live on Vixen News at the site where Flight LA8202 has crashed,” a man said in front of the camera, showing a crashed airliner in flames on the groud. “As far as we know, all 68 occupants are dead; the chances of surviving a crash like that are next to none.” The camera then turned to a man in birdwatching gear.

“I saw that thing spin out of control as it came down,” the birdwatcher reported. “It was doing a downward corkscrew. I thought it was a bird in distress… until I saw the engine flames.”

“Sir, did you call the authorities as soon as you recognized that it was a plane?”

“I did, but I knew it would be futile.”

“How so?”

“Unless the pilot did something, everyone was as good as dead.”

“Indeed, the pilot didn’t do anything to prevent this disaster,” the reporter said. “No distress signals were sent, and the cabin ejection system wasn’t deployed. Pilot negligence, or aircraft malfunction. Authorities are now trying to get in touch with the aircraft’s designer, Matt Kerman.” When his face appeared next to the reporter’s, Bob gasped.

“I know that guy!”

“Duh, he was a Zeus survivor,” remarked Melburry.

“Where is he now?”

“WO, WEE! WEE!”

“Then take me to him.” Wally spun his wheels as fast as he could to the rover garage. “Where is he?” Wally then moved back and forth to the vehicle exit. “Is he… at the landing strip?”

“BEEP BOP!”

“Looks like I’m driving,” said Bob. “EVA me!” A suit then flew to Bob and assembled itself as soon as it was on him. “Sir, I need a car!”

“Name and purpose!” ordered the guard on duty.

“Bob Kerman, I need to see Matt Kerman IMMEDIATELY!”

“Sorry, sir, but unless you have some documentation to back that up, I can’t let you take a vehicle,” sighed the guard.

“Hey, we used to just sign off on rovers and take them!” protested Bob.

“I didn’t make that rule, sir. It’s just because of that one wacko, Val.”

“Great,” sighed Bob. “Looks like I’m WALKING.”

“WEE, WOO!” said Wally, then he revealed a compacted board he had kept in his body. When feet holders were deployed, Bob was amazed.

“You have a SKATEBOARD?” he gasped. “You didn’t tell me you have a SKATEBOARD.”

“WO, WEE! WEE!” shouted Wally, then Bob hopped on it.

“Let’s see what you got,” said Bob, then the feet holders latched onto Bob’s boots.

“Please remain secured and keep your center of mass above the vehicle at all times,” Bill’s recorded voice said. Wally then accelerated forward toward the landing strip.

“Amazing!” shouted Bob. “It’s just like snowboarding back home, but on another planet.”

“Now going 10 meters per second!” a female voice announced.

“Oh, NOW you talk.”

“BEEP!”

“I should have guessed they were pre-recorded,” sighed Bob. “Well… speed limits are for ROVER drivers… give it all you got!”

“Now going 20 meters per second.”

“Just keep it stable. Come on, keep it stable.”

“WEEEEEEE!” As soon as Wally made that noise, a one-man rover that was approaching them stopped suddenly.

“Whoa!” gasped the man at the controls. “What the heck is that?”

“Matt, great,” said Bob as Wally applied his brakes. “You really need an anti-lock braking system, dude.”

“I’m pretty sure I already have it,” said Matt.

“Not you, him,” clarified Bob, gesturing at Wally, who aimed his solar panels at the sun.

“Bob?” said Matt. “Were you looking for me?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” said Bob. “You hear about what happened back on Kerbin?”

“Uh, nope. I’ve been at the landing strip all day,” answered Matt. “Why are you looking for ME?”

“Because one of your planes crashed back on Kerbin,” explained Bob.

“How do you know it was MINE?” asked Matt. “Was it an SSTO?”

“No, it was a passenger airliner,” said Bob as Matt got back in his rover.

“Follow me back to base where it’s warmer.” He drove off and Bob mounted Wally, who carried him back to the rover hangar. As soon as Bob and Matt removed their EVA suits, Matt turned on his kPad. “Can you describe the airliner?”

“I think I saw a hypersonic engine in the wreckage, but it was hard to tell for sure on the TV,” started Bob. “I DO remember that… 68 people were inside.”

“Hypersonic engines and 68 people, eh,” said Matt. “Here we go, it was one of my greatest creations… the Foxy Box.”

“The Foxy Box?” wondered Bob.

“As quick as a fox on land, and a box-wing design,” explained Matt, showing Bob a picture of a mass-occupancy box-wing airliner. “Perhaps if I saw more details on the accident, I can tell you more.”

“You probably can now. You’re an engineer, you can see all reports,” reminded Bob, and Matt snapped his fingers.

“Why didn’t I think of that… huh, no mention of a Foxy Box anywhere on here.”

“What?” gasped Bob.

“No surprise; if this happened just now, it will be a while before the investigation report is officially filed,” said Matt. “You might wanna try again later.”

“Okay, but the reporter on the TV said he wanted to talk to you,” remarked Bob. “He said that the ejectable cabin didn’t deploy.”

“What? Impossible!” yelled Matt. “EVERY time that fail-safe system was tested, it worked – EVERY TIME! Not even a broken bone in the crash test dummies.”

“Yet everyone’s DEAD,” reminded Bob.

“Then whoever inspected that plane must have done a TERRIBLE job at it,” explained Matt.

“BOP! BOP!” disagreed Wally as it spun side to side.

“What do you mean no way?” asked Bob.

“Yeah, he’s probably right,” sighed Matt. “There’s a greater chance of it going off when you DON’T need it than not going off when you DO.”

“I can’t tell you how many times missions failed because of staging decouplers going off early,” laughed Bob. “I remember seeing videos of parachutes deploying IMMEDIATELY AFTER LIFTOFF.”

“Epic Early Days Fails?” asked Matt.

“You know that’s right.”

“BOP! BOP!”

“What, dude? It’s a funny video series.”

“WEE! BEEP, BOP!”

“Yes, some of them had rovers in them – but they’re NOWHERE NEAR as cool as you.”

“WO! BEEP, BO-BEEP BOP!” Wally then got in front of Bob and slowly drove.

“I think your skateboard wants to play charades,” said Matt. “I love this game.”

“Okay…,” started Bob. “Driving,” he guessed, but then Wally pointed at Matt and the rec room entrance. “Matt, rec room… His plane is flying.” Wally blinked once, before starting to spin around.

“My angular acceleration,” said Matt.

“BEEP! WO, WEE! WEE!”

“The plane losing control?” asked Bob, then Wally turned on his lights before stopping and showing Bob his rear end. “It’s RTG?”

“What? My plane doesn’t have an RTG,” said Matt as Irpond rejoined the men. “Maybe the mass-transport SSTOs, but none of my AIRLINERS have decaying blutonium-238. It’s strictly against KAA Regulations.”

“Wait a minute, Wally showed me his RTG to say that it was stolen,” Bob recalled. “How did you know someone was carrying blutonium?”

“He couldn’t have,” said Matt. “It’s ILLEGAL to transport radioactive materials in commercial airliners.”

“Then how do you take RTGs across Kerbin?”

“Either in specially designed ships or planes. I actually designed a few of those myself.”

“Matt’s plane losing control, and your RTG,” stammered Bob, scratching his chin. Wally then crashed into the wall and turned off his lights. “Wait… his plane was… SABOTAGED?”

“BEEP BOP!” Wally blinked once in agreement, then Irpond gasped in shock.

“Okay, THAT makes sense,” concurred Matt. “If someone messed with the cockpit controls, the ejection system should still work – even if the big button or the hidden code didn’t.”

“Hidden code?”

“Yes, in case of a hijacking,” explained Matt. “You think terrorists will let you hit the big red button that says, ‘Eject Cabin?’ There’s also a manually-operated switch in the back of the cockpit in case the electronic controls fail.”

“Whoever sabotaged your plane accounted for THAT too,” realized Bob

“But that’s impossible. There’s NO WAY you can know how to stop the MANUAL ejection mechanism without the plans, AND you must be plugged into the jet to mess with its operation codes. Even if it was ME, you know how airports are crawling with guards and witnesses these days.”

“Then whoever tampered with that jet got the complete plans and software package for that plane and did his work between the time the plane parked, and the time the gate disconnected,” Bob figured out. “That means he had almost an hour.”

“Which means that the saboteur had this planned LONG BEFORE that plane arrived,” added Matt. “But… that means that he had a strong motive to sabotage the plane. However, if all he was going for was to making my designs look aerodynamically unfit, he didn’t have to sabotage the ejector cabin.”

“He was wanting to kill SOMEONE ON IT,” gasped Bob, “but WHO?”

“THAT I can’t help you with,” sighed Matt. “I only design the planes, I don’t see who gets on them. You’ll have to contact the police on Kerbin for that.”

“Okay,” said Bob.

“Wanna go water your plants?” asked Irpond.

“Oh, right,” stammered Bob.

“Oh, kinda like The Duna Dude,” commented Matt.

“Wait,” interrupted Bob.

“What now?” sighed Irpond, then Bob asked Matt if Val was on the U.S.S. Zeus at the time of Sheri’s murder.

“What are you talking about, OF COURSE she was on the Zeus,” answered Matt. “Why do you ask?”

“Because my girlfriend was murdered at the time,” said Bob.

“Murdered? I hope they caught the guy,” said Matt.

“They DID, it was Val,” added Bob.

“Val? No, it can’t be,” said Matt. “I mean, I knew she was a murderer’s SISTER. I didn’t think she was one HERSELF.”

“Back up, are you SURE Val was with you on the Zeus at the time?” asked Bob.

“As sure as I’m talking to you now.”

“What?” gasped Irpond. “No… he’s mistaken. Val could have snuck out while you were asleep.”

“Then somebody saw her,” finished Matt. “Even though the Zeus’ computers have been destroyed, someone on the ground should have detected and logged her getting on and off this rock.”

“That’s it,” cheered Bob. “Thanks, Matt.”

“Anytime, dude,” replied Matt. “Hey, where can I get a skateboard like that?”

“Bill made him years ago,” answered Bob. “You want one, talk to him.”

“I will, we’re friends,” commented Matt, then Wally drove away.

“Where are you going now, boy?” asked Bob as he ran after him. “Dude, save your power for when… Captain Ersen.” Wally stopped when Bob did.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” said Ersen. “I got called by security, and they claim you skateboarded and did 33 in a 10 zone.”

“Sounds right,” said Bob.

“How’d you even get a skateboard on base anyway? More importantly, how could you go that fast on one?”

“Wally, deploy skateboard,” ordered Bob, and Wally obeyed. “See. Why should I have to sign off on a ROBOT that I already own? Oh, and FYI, until today I didn’t even know Wally had one.”

“WO, WEE! WEE!”

“Thanks, Wally.”

“Eh… okay,” stammered Ersen. “Just what were you doing back there?”

“I was looking for Matt to talk to him about one of his planes,” answered Bob.

“Why, did it break?”

“Eh… more like EXPLODED,” said Bob. “Don’t worry, it was on Kerbin.”

“Yeah, how can I forget his repatuation among the plane industry?” sighed Ersen. “What are you gonna do now?”

“Either spring an innocent woman out of jail,” said Bob, “or nail a guilty woman’s coffin shut.”

“What are you talking about?” wondered Ersen.

“The spacecraft landing and takeoff logs,” explained Bob. “Where can I find them?”

“Anything younger than 200 days is kept at the landing strip,” said Ersen, “but even then, Mission Control archives everything. You know how they get.”

“Thanks, Captain,” said Bob happily. “Wally, HIT IT!

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: AIRFIELD ANTICS

 

In a matter of minutes, Bob was in an EVA suit going 30 meters per second on Wally to the landing strip. He wanted to see the logs as fast as possible before any accomplices Val had could tamper with them. Bob anticipated the guard in the garage stopping him again, but he wasn’t there this time. He found that weird, but he had no time to ponder over it.

“Too bad the surface gravity’s too high,” Bob complained.

“WEE, BEEP BOP!”

“Why are you complaining? You don’t have a jetpack.”

“WEE, WOO! WEE, WOO! WEE, WOO!”

“Oh… bouncing,” guessed Bob. “Well, don’t blame ME for overpowered springs. Talk to Bill.” He then saw that he was less than a kilometer from the control tower. “Full speed, Wally!”

“WO, WEE! WEE!”

“I’m gonna either apologize to Val or blow h… what the?” Bob gasped as he saw a guard lying in a pool of blood on the snow in front of the tower entrance. He quickly dismounted Wally, who moved to the sunlight to recharge his batteries, and ran over to the guard’s aid. “You okay?”

“Va… has… gun.”

“Va who has a gun?” asked Bob, then he saw that the guard’s holster was empty. “Oh no. Who was it?”

“E… va.”

“Eva who… EVA,” said Bob. “He was in an EVA suit?” The guard slowly nodded, then Bob did his best to clean the wound and slow down the bleeding. “Wally, call for help.”

“WO, WEEE!” Bob then noticed that the door to the tower was opened, then he drew his gun. After his conversation with Ersen, he returned to his quarters and loaded his weapon while informing Guscan, Wally’s “emergency contact,” that he would receive a distress signal in case Bob asked for one.

“Shots… fired.” The guard then passed out, then Bob stormed into the tower.

“I hope he only came for cash,” sighed Bob, though he suspected that the assailant entered for more than that. He knew that the attacker had fired a gun while inside, but he didn’t know exactly why. “Uh… hello?” Bob then tiptoed up the staircase and kept his head down; though the helmet was designed to withstand space debris while on EVA, he didn’t count on it protecting him from bullets coming at him at that relative velocity.

BLAM! BLAM! As soon as the top of Bob’s helmet peaked over the top of the stairs, two shots rang out. Bob quickly ducked and turned off the safety. He spun around and saw a figure in an EVA suit near the computers with a gun drawn.

“Hey!” Bob shouted, but the intruder fired again before shooting the computers three times. Bob then got up and fired twice, but the bullets missed and hit the walls. “Stop or I’ll… AAGH!” The intruder fired another shot which grazed his left shoulder. “Oh, GREAT!” He then tripped on something, then noticed that it was a bloody arm. Bob looked around and saw three dead bodies on the floor; they had all been shot.

The shooter opened the emergency exit hatch and started climbing down the ladder. Bob pointed his gun down the hatch and started firing, but then his enemy shot back. As soon as Bob was clear, he saw that the shooter had already made it to the ground and was running toward a one-seat rover. Rather than take the ladder, where he could be exposed to a clear shot, he ran down the stairs inside and took aim as soon as he was outside.

“WEEEEEE!”

“Get him, Wally!”

“WO, WEE! WEE!” Wally then chased after the shooter, who drove to one of the hypersonic fighter jets. Bob sprinted to intercept the shooter with the safety turned on to prevent an accidental discharge, then aimed at the jet.

“Eesh!” He could still feel the pain of the graze. “Stop, or I’ll shoot!” As soon as he said that, the plane deployed its guns and opened fire. “Oh, snap!” Bob then took cover behind an SSTO, which soon got shot and exploded. After Bob was thrown on his back, he could hear the fighter’s engine roar. “No no no no no, please don’t take off!”

“Halt!” yelled a guard armed with a machine gun, holding a megaphone. “Stay where you are!” The plane opened fire again, and another fighter exploded – throwing Bob to the ground after he stood back up.

“Sir, can you walk?” asked another guard who approached Bob.

“I think I’m okay,” answered Bob. “He shot up the tower!”

“OPEN FIRE!” yelled another guard, then his teammates aimed their machine guns and shot at the fighter, but it was no use as it quickly took off. “FIRE THE MISSILE!” A soldier then took position with a rocket launcher and fired a missile at the plane, but it quickly deployed flares to redirect it. The fighter then circled around and launched a rocket at the control tower.

“TAKE COVER!”

“WATCH OUT!” Everyone on the airstrip, including Wally, took cover as the control tower blew up.

“MAN DOWN!” shouted a guard, who felt the pulse of a man who was bleeding out his legs. “MEDIC, WE NEED A MEDIC HERE!” Meanwhile, the enemy plane simply flew away – leaving the base security and the airstrip in flames.

“Evacuate that civilian!” ordered the commander, pointing at Bob.

“Yes, sir!” acknowledged one of his subordinates. “Are you all right?”

“I’ve been shot,” answered Bob.

“Medic!” the guard yelled.

“I think I can make it to sick bay, thanks,” sighed Bob, then a mini-bus arrived at the scene.

“GO! GO! GO!” He saw Guscan and four soldiers – two of them with medic armbands – disembark from the vehicle.

“Hey, buddy,” said Guscan. “You okay?”

“No,” sighed Bob. “My chance to either prove Val innocent or guilty just went up in flames with that tower.”

“Oh, dear,” gasped Guscan. “You’ve been shot.”

“Just grazed,” sighed Bob. “Wally, can you take me back to base?”

“Belay that!” interrupted Guscan. “Try to rest until the doctors assess you. Besides, how is HE gonna take you back?” Wally then showed Guscan his skateboard. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“WO, WEE! WEE!”

“Why were you even at the landing strip?” asked Guscan.

“I wanted to know if Val came down here at the time of Sheri’s murder,” sighed Bob.

“Why? I thought there was already evidence that Val killed your woman,” questioned Guscan.

“That’s funny, because one of the Zeus survivors said that Val WAS WITH HIM at the time,” remarked Bob.

“I’m driving you back with the wounded,” said Guscan.

“No, you’re not,” said Eli as he arrived with reinforcements. “You can fly, right?”

“Yes, sir,” replied Guscan.

“Good. Base security will clean up, you catch this guy in the air.”

“He was last seen heading west,” added Bob.

“You have any spare drivers to transport wounded?” requested Guscan.

“Yes, pilot.”

“Good. I’m gonna need some orbital tracking to find this guy,” reminded Guscan as he walked to a fighter that had not taken any damage.

“You got it,” replied Eli. “EVERYBODY CLEAR THE RUNWAY!” As soon as the runway was cleared, Guscan took off and started pursuit of the plane.

 

In the outer Baikerbanur suburbs on Kerbin, William Kerman was finished running through the neighborhood. He liked to start his day with a nice run early in the morning, followed by some calisthenics and a shower before breakfast. After that, he would carpool with his friends to his job at the Bismarck Hydroelectric Plant. William was now a chief inspector after years working as an engineer. Some of his former co-workers from his previous job, the Baikerbanur Nuclear Battery, often teased him about him “taking a serious downgrade.” However, William claimed to not regret changing jobs.

Edith Kerman, William’s wife, used to work at the Nuclear Battery when she was diagnosed with cancer; their son, Bill, was only 12 years old. Three years later, Edith died in her sleep after months of treatment failed. Though Bill’s friends from school, Jeb and Val, comforted them after his loss, William was out for blood; the Nuclear Battery’s inadequate safety measures were what caused Edith’s cancer. He used some of the life insurance money he got from Edith to hire a lawyer to help him sue the plant for wrongful death. Some of William’s co-workers felt betrayed, until his lawyer cited several occasions where former employees died of causes related to the Nuclear Battery’s inadequate protection measures; they feared it may happen to them or someone they loved.

William won the following lawsuit, which forced the company to pay restitution to all the families of the dead employees in question. It was also forced to shut down until it installed the necessary safety measures to ensure such deaths didn’t happen again. Additionally, all employees were required to undergo company-sponsored medical examinations every 71 days to detect health problems before they could become life-threatening. Though Bill and Val told William that they wanted revenge for Edith’s death, William told them to stand down.

“Nothing you do will bring her back,” he said to Bill, though Jeb had suggested that they irradiate Edith’s corpse to bring her to life. “The best we can do now is make sure no other child doesn’t lose their parent like you lost yours.” While Bill scrapped his Iron Kerbal suit project – that William knew he would have used against the Nuclear Battery’s owners if given the chance – William did his best to get through Edith’s death. He had an entire bookshelf dedicated to her in the living room, complete with her favorite books and albums of her childhood and marriage. To top it off was the last family picture she, William, and Bill took before Edith had to be moved to the hospital.  

When he was done with his shower, the doorbell rang and he saw a woman a few years younger than Bill at his door. “Hello, miss.”

“William Kerman?” she asked.

“Ah… you must be Sally Kerman,” said William, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Bill told me you were coming,” explained William. “He also asked me to not let you in without an ID.”

“Eh… okay,” stammered Sally as she showed William her driver’s license. “Why?”

“He said that a bunch of strange things have been going on off the planet,” said William. “People getting murdered, spaceships getting hacked, friends turning into villains.”

“Bob told me that VAL killed his girlfriend on Laythe,” added Sally as William invited her in.

“Laythe, isn’t that the red one?” wondered William.

“No, that’s Duna,” corrected Sally. “Laythe’s the water moon orbiting the big green gas giant.”

“I always get my moons mixed up,” sighed William. “I doubt Val did such a thing.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Sally.

“I’ve known Val since Bill was in elementary school,” started William. “A bit of a hardass at times, but she only gets that from her brother. The rest of the time, she was very… sweet.”

“Maybe around Bill,” argued Sally, noticing Edith’s picture on the wall. “Is that your wife?”

“It WAS,” sighed William. “She died of cancer 22 years ago… Bill was only 15.”

“Must have been hard for him,” said Sally.

“It was, despite Jeb and Val being there for him.”

“Jeb and Val?” gasped Sally. “BOTH of them knew Bill as kids?”

“Yeah, they all went to the same school,” explained William. “Fun fact: Jeb put Bill in a coma once in fifth grade; not only was Bill’s plane terrible, but Jeb’s flying was worse.”

“For a while, I thought you meant that Jeb and Bill got in a fight.”

“Anyway, here are the plans you asked for,” said William, showing Sally a stuffed folder. “But first, can you do something for me?”

“What, sir?”

“Tell my son… Bob’s girlfriend’s death is HIS fault.”

“Now why would I do that?” asked Sally. “HOW is it Bill’s fault?”

“If only he worked up the courage to ask Val out… her future may have been different, and she may not have committed murder.”

“Courage to date VAL… Bill LIKED her?”

“Yes, but he never had the guts to admit it… not to her at least,” explained William. “Assuming he did, he would either marry Val and she may not have went to that planet to kill that woman… or they would break up. Either way, Bill would have finally faced a challenge every man must go through at some point in their lives… and Val would have made a completely different set of choices than what she did.”

“That’s funny,” said Sally. “Bob told me that Val admitted that she had a crush on Bill.”

“All the more reason Bill should have seized his opportunity when he had it.” Sally then saw the pictures of Bob on his missions.

“For a man who’s proud of his son’s accomplishments, you sure aren’t thinking highly of him about THIS.”

“My son is all I have left in this universe,” explained William. “As brilliant as he may be, he cannot run from his fears forever. No matter how many fail-safe systems he builds, they will always come to haunt him… unless he faces them head-on.”

“Can’t you just tell him yourself?” asked Sally. “You ARE his father.”

“Last I told him that, he chickened out at the most crucial moment,” explained William. “Besides, when he lost his mother… he lost his daring spirit. Sure, he’s always been careful in his designs… and I don’t think I would get on a capsule on top of tons of explosive rocket fuel myself, but his fear of failure increased since Edith died.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s what made the program a huge success when he joined,” argued Sally. “He went for maximum crew safety first, then mission success.”

“Bill can tinker all he wants with his rockets, but he can’t run from his problems even at light-speed.”

“We haven’t achieved that yet, but I see your point,” agreed Sally.

“Could you also do something else for me?” asked William. “Tell me how his robot’s doing.”

“His robot? Doesn’t HE have it?”

“No. He gave it to his friend Bob over a decade ago. I believe he named it… Wally.”

“Oh, I know what you’re talking about. I’ll email you when I find out.”

“Thanks, miss.”

 

“You’re gonna be fine, Bob.”

“Thanks, Dr. Melinda,” said Bob after she dressed his wound.

“You’re lucky to be alive,” Dr. Melinda added. “Based on what I saw on the dead and wounded personnel so far, this guy was knew what he was doing.”

“Why would he go to the control tower?” wondered Bob. “If all he wanted was an armed plane, why didn’t he just START with stealing it?”

“My guess: he didn’t want to be seen,” said Dr. Melinda.

“I don’t know about that. Even without the tower, we track the heck out of everything on Laythe.”

“Laythe is closest place to Kerbin in our solar system,” reminded Dr. Melinda. “You’re a scientist, you should know this.”

“I hope Guscan shoots this guy down,” commented Bob. “His plane can fly the entire equator in less than an hour. Can I go now?”

“Yes,” answered Dr. Melinda, and Bob left.

“How is it?” asked Eli.

“I’ll be fine,” said Bob. “How many casualties.”

“Seven dead and ten wounded,” sighed Eli. “An eighth death occurred in the rover garage; the guard who logged the rover acquisitions.”

“Oh, no, that’s why I didn’t see him,” gasped Bob. “That guy KILLED him.”

“Why were you at the landing strip?” questioned Eli. “I don’t think you went there just to go skateboarding with your robot.”

“I wanted the landing and takeoff logs for the day Sheri was murdered,” said Bob.

“You want to know if Val came down here that day, didn’t you?” asked Eli.

“Well… yes.”

“Scott Kerman said that he saw Val leave the Zeus ALONE before Sheri died, then she flew back after the murder.”

“That’s weird,” said Bob. “Matt said that Val was on board the Zeus THE WHOLE TIME.”

“You’re right, that IS weird,” agreed Eli. “Both were assigned to the Zeus at the time of the murder. Why would one of the survivors contradict the other?”

“Well… without the tower’s landing logs we can’t prove which one is telling the truth,” sighed Bob.

“Bah, like we need them,” said Eli.

“Why not?”

“You know how Mission Control archives everything everyone does,” explained Eli. “They should have a backup copy of the landing logs for that day. I’ll email Roger and ask him for them.”

“You might wanna ask more Zeus survivors about… wait a second,” said Bob. “The bad guy shot up the computers before he left, then blew up the tower… for good measure. He was trying to ERASE the logs, which means… Wally, get me to the brig.”

“BEEP BOP! Wally activated his skateboard and Bob went as fast as Wally could to the brig.

“Hey, no skateboarding indoors!” shouted Eli, but Bob couldn’t hear him.

“Halt!” ordered one of the guards at the brig, then Bob dismounted Wally.

“I need to see Val Kerman now,” demanded Bob.

“Name and specialty.”

“Bob Kerman, scientist.”

“I see,” said the guard, verifying Bob’s identity with the personnel logs. “Your… robot will have to wait outside. Weapon, please.” Bob handed him his gun and Wally parked outside the brig doors. “Okay, follow me.” He punched in the code and two more guards led Bob through the hallway.

“Wha… what is it?” moaned Val as she woke up.

“You have a visitor, mam,” said the guard. “Ten minutes.”

“What do you want?” sighed Val. “You came here to prove my innocence?”

“No, I came here to prove your GUILT,” said Bob. “Who is he?”

“Who’s WHO?”

“Your partner,” clarified Bob. “He almost killed me back at the tower.”

“How so?” Bob then showed Val his bandage. “What happened?”

“I’ve been shot,” explained Bob.

“SHOT?” gasped Val.

“Yes, and that was just a handgun,” added Bob. “Not only did he kill the guys at the tower, he killed several cops and blew up the tower as he escaped on a fighter.”

“And you think I had something to do with it because…”

“The tower’s computers contained evidence that you arrived on Laythe right before Sheri’s murder,” started Bob, “then flew back up afterwards.”

“I did no such thing,” said Val. “I was in Jool orbit on board the Zeus the whole time.”

“That’s funny, because one of the survivors said that you LEFT,” started Bob, still curious about why Scott and Matt gave contradicting statements on Val’s whereabouts that day.

“What? No,” said Val surprised. “I don’t know who’s lying, but everyone else DEFINITELY saw me. And furthermore, how did you know it wasn’t someone trying to FRAME me who shot you?”

“There was only one way you could have destroyed the Zeus while going to Tylo,” said Bob. “You had a partner knock out Jendun… then you told us his name to throw us off.”

“Why would I destroy the Zeus?”

“Duh, no witnesses. If everyone on the Zeus is dead, nobody can say you WEREN’T on board when you killed Sheri. That’s why you tampered with the asteroid contingency system and left early. That’s also why you stole Wenpont’s license and planted my stuff in her room.”

“Come on, Bob. Why would I want to kill Sheri OR frame Wenpont?”

“To cover for your brother,” answered Bob. “You’re smart, AND you’re his sister… you knew all along what he did.”

“For a scientist, you sure are stubborn.”

“Even for a Badger, you sure lack morality. Now, who is he?”

“I don’t know who tried to kill you. If I did, I’d tell you.”

“Some sister,” sighed Bob. “You’d rat out your own brother to save your skin, yet not your partner-in-crime. No wonder you and Sally were rivals; you only cared about yourself.”

“Stop it. I would NEVER endanger the lives of my friends OR my crew.”

“As far as you were concerned, they were either enemies or friends-becoming-enemies.”

“I did not kill Sheri, nor did I conspire to destroy the Zeus!” spat Val. “The only people I know who are even CAPABLE of breaching the asteroid countermeasures are Matt, Megan, and Xavier.”

“You forgot one thing, Val,” warned Bob. “We document EVERYTHING that goes on here. We’re gonna find your partner, and we’re going to prove your guilt.”

“Or innocence, since I did NOT kill Sheri or destroy the Zeus,” said Val.

“I hope they deep-fry your head with a nuclear engine,” responded Bob. “You deserve it, you worthless piece of trash.”

“Guard!” yelled Val, then two men escorted Bob out.

“For someone who’s close friends with Val, you sure wish the worst upon her,” commented Eli.

“She killed Sheri, and she’s not getting away with it,” replied Bob. “Did you contact Roger?”

“I did, and he said Ersen already did an hour ago,” answered Eli.

“Good. I need you to look for Matt… Megan, and Xavier,” requested Bob.

“Matt’s on-base right now,” started Eli, unlocking his kPad. “As for Megan and Xavier… they’re dead.”

“What happened?”

“They were found in Jool orbit after the Zeus was destroyed,” explained Eli. “Why?”

“Val said that they were the only ones on board capable of tampering with the asteroid detection system,” said Bob.

“I heard. We’ll definitely look into that.”

“You might wanna look into why Matt and Scott gave different statements,” added Bob, “and talk to the other survivors.”

“Besides Matt and Scott, only Penelope Kerman survived,” said Eli. “Avery is still missing in action, as he was never found since the destruction. At this rate… if no sign of him soon, we’ll have to assume the worst.”

“Penelope, where is she now?”

“Hang on… and… what do you know, she’s at Vallhenge right now.”

“Vall?” gasped Bob. “You’d better fly there before the tower shooter gets to her.”

“Who said anything about flying?” smirked Eli. “We can just CALL her.” Guscan then approached the men. “Status report.”

“I shot down the getaway plane,” started Guscan, “but he bailed. I radioed it in and reported his last known location.”

“Couldn’t you have landed and tried to apprehend him?”

“No, sir; he was over water. Even if I could land, I only have one seat. I don’t even have enough room in the cockpit for him to sit on my lap the flight back… like I’m gonna do THAT. Sorry I lost the shooter.”

“Hey, he has to go somewhere,” assured Eli. “We’ll catch him.”

“I don’t understand,” sighed Guscan. “If all he wanted was to steal a fighter, why infiltrate the tower and shoot the personnel?”

“I think the shooter was Val’s ACCOMPLICE,” said Bob, “and he went in there to erase the logs for the day of Sheri’s murder. However, I scared him and forced him to run.”

“Blowing up the tower definitely erased the logs,” agreed Guscan. “So, what now?”

“Unless the shooter was part of a terrorist group that bombed the space center, he didn’t account for EVERYTHING,” said Eli. “The guys back home will pull the logs from the Laythe mission archives, and WE will talk to the Zeus survivors.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Guscan. “Where are they now?”

“Matt and Scott are on-base, and Penelope’s on Vall,” answered Eli, “but that job’s for base security. You’re just a uniformed pilot who doubles as a rover driver.”

“I understand,” said Guscan. “I must advise that you’re careful, Val blackmailed the survivors into giving her an alibi.”

“I know about that leaked email,” said Eli. “Have a nice day, you two. Oh, and Bob, if I catch you skateboarding indoors again, I’m telling Captain Ersen.”

“I could use some rest,” sighed Bob.

“Yeah, me too,” agreed Guscan. “I spent so much time as a bus driver I almost forgot what it was like to go hypersonic. Really wears you out.”

“Wanna watch some Big Boom Theory?” asked Bob as they entered the rec room.

“No thanks,” Guscan declined. “I think I need a nap.”

“Okay, well, don’t do it here,” said Bob. “Last time you crashed on the couch, we had to toss you to the side to wake you up.”

“And you drew a mustache on me,” added Guscan, “AND made me urinate myself.”

“That wasn’t me, that was some Badger,” corrected Bob as Guscan left.

“Hey, Bob,” said Wenpont.

“How are the plants?” asked Bob

“Last I checked, they’re fine,” answered Wenpont. “Assuming the sensors are working right and I set the necessary environmental conditions correctly, it’ll be another… three hours before it’s your turn to log their progress and maintain the climate controls.”

“Man, we pay more attention to Laythan crops than the Laythans themselves,” commented Bob.

“Ugh, my door’s still locked,” said Dime, the blonde-haired woman on the television.

“Perhaps it’s because you’re attempting to insert a CAR KEY into the lock,” replied Dime’s neighbor, Shell.

“Can you hold my groceries, please?” requested Dime.

“From my observations, you are fully capable of both unlocking the door and holding the groceries by yourself,” noticed Shell.

“Seriously?” sighed Wenpont. “Can’t you take a hint, Shell?”

“Or at least be a gentleman to your neighbor?” added Jendun, then the phone rang. “I’ll get it.”

“Dang it!” cursed Dime after she dropped the groceries. “Now my keys are stuck.”

“Because you applied enough force into the key in question – most likely the wrong one – to get it stuck inside the lock,” said Shell, then Jendun asked for the watchers to press pause.

“Uh, Ineedee Odorunt here? Hey, everybody, INEEDEE ODORUNT!”

“You sure do,” replied Bob, and everyone in the rec room laughed.

“What the… I need deodorant,” realized Jendun, but the caller hung up.

“Oh, you got prank-named,” said one of the off-duty engineers, then the phone rang again.

“What now?” sighed Jendun as he picked up. “Hello.”

“I wonder what’s next,” said Bob. “Stewart Pid? Crashen Burne?”

“Bob Kerman!” shouted Jendun.

“Ha ha ha, Bob Kerman, that’s a good one… eh… I don’t get it,” said another scientist in the room after noticing that nobody else was laughing.

“I’m Bob Kerman,” replied Bob.

“It’s for you,” said Jendun as he gave Bob the phone.

“Hello?” asked Bob.

“Bob, this is Victor.”

“What do you want, Vic?” questioned Bob.

“The same thing you want.”

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

 CHAPTER FOURTEEN: VAL’S FINAL VERDICT

 

“Why did you call me?” wondered Bob.

“Just shut up and listen,” said Victor. “As you are well aware, there is a monster on Laythe.”

“Correction: three monsters,” argued Bob. “One’s in jail, the other’s at large, and I’m talking to the third.”

“You’re wrong on all counts except for the one who’s at large,” replied Victor. “Some of my men were called to hunt down the guy that trashed your airfield.”

“Your sister’s partner,” said Bob.

“How DARE you accuse my sister of murder,” said Victor.

“Says the genocidal warmonger,” spat Bob.

“Whatever I did on Laythe years ago, Val knew nothing of,” contradicted Victor.

“Yeah, right,” sighed Bob. “Why should I trust you?”

“Because all my secrets are out now; I have nothing more to hide,” said Victor.

“Except the fact that your sister butchered my girlfriend, blew up her own crew, kidnapped and drugged a tourist, and framed my lab partner for it,” argued Bob. “I’d tell you what her partner did, but you already know.”

“I will not deny that I cleansed this planet of the Clivar, hence making it safe for the kerbals, the Ryagii, and other Laythan tribes,” started Victor. “What I WILL deny is that VAL murdered anyone.”

“The evidence begs to differ,” said Bob. “Motive: Sheri was close to uncovering your secret, so Val shut her up. Means: Sheri’s killer is a woman…” Victor then interrupted Bob with laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“Then the Clivar cleansing has NOTHING TO DO with your girlfriend’s murder,” said Victor.

“How would YOU know that?”

“There were NO WOMEN in the strike force,” explained Victor. “We were also bound not to tell anyone specific details of our actions against the Clivar – not even our own wives.”

“Yet you told your sister.”

“No, I didn’t. Believe me, I wanted to… but my superiors said that she could never accept it was what needed to be done.”

“You never told your wife… that’s why she hung herself,” Bob figured out.

“That’s right,” confirmed Victor. “While looking through her closet, I found a folder with the same files Val had. Apparently, someone slipped them to her behind my back.”

“She couldn’t live with the shame of being married to a murderer, so she committed suicide,” said Bob. “That’s… also why Val got drunk last week.”

“Did you, at any time, point a gun at her?” asked Victor.

“Yes, and I had a darn good reason to,” answered Bob. “She killed my girlfriend and her own crew to keep their mouths shut.”

“If that was true, then why didn’t you just pull the trigger?”

“Because I’m not a murderous scumbag like you.”

“Whoa, I prefer pest control,” argued Victor. “If we hadn’t wiped out the Clivar then and there, they would have already overrun the Ryagii lands and Poseidon’s Palace. They were too dangerous to be left alive.”

“So is Val and her partner.”

“Let’s get one thing straight, Bob. Val DID NOT kill your girlfriend.”

“How would you know?”

“I’ve been getting emails from her saying that she ‘silenced our enemies.’ As soon as I opened the first one, I deleted it because I thought it was just some computer punk playing a prank. When I got more random emails, I called Val, she denied ever sending them, then I reported my kPad problem to Kerbin.”

“That doesn’t make sense? Why email someone on the same rock as you if you can just call them… and why would she deny sending emails to her own brother?” wondered Bob.

“Yes, see; not to mention emails can be RECOVERED. If she called me to tell me that she killed someone, BIG DEAL. All the cops can prove that is that she called me, and that seems normal since she’s my sister,” added Victor.

“But… the handprints were woman-sized… and the killer really wanted Sheri dead,” stammered Bob. “I saw her autopsy.”

“Like I said, my actions on Laythe have NOTHING TO DO with Sheri’s death,” said Victor. “Val’s lawyer showed me the autopsy report for your girlfriend. If I had to guess, I’d say that the killer was enraged at her.”

“For almost uncovering your secret?”

“No; either passion or revenge,” said Victor.

“Uh, all of Sheri’s former boyfriends were on Kerbin,” reminded Bob, “but that’s pointless since they’re all MALES and the killer’s FEMALE.”

“Then it was a lesbian, a woman who was either SUPER-MAD at Sheri for something she did… or some crazyhead who had the hots for you. Women go crazy like that all the time.”

“Will you ever stop lying?” sighed Bob.

“Okay, let’s try something else,” stated Victor. “When was Val’s last email before her arrest sent, and what was she doing at the time? Riddle me that.” To Bob’s surprise, Victor hung up.

“Val’s last email… and what she was doing,” stammered Bob. “Interesting.”

“Wanna resume Big Boom Theory?” asked Wenpont.

“Eh… on second thought, maybe I’d better see how my water purification system’s working,” lied Bob.

“I checked, the plant water’s fine,” said Wenpont.

“Not for the plants; it’s designed to purify LAYTHE’S waters,” clarified Bob before leaving the rec room. As soon as he was out of sight, he logged out of his own KSP account and accessed Val’s. “Okay, let’s see… the last email she sent was… over a week ago. It said that she and Victor needed to hijack an SSTO and fly out of here.” He carefully inspected the timestamp on Val’s last email. “That makes no sense. She took an AIR-BREATING fighter to Victor’s base. Why not just steal an SSTO, even if she wasn’t going suborbital?”

“What was she doing at the time?” Bob heard Victor’s voice replay in his head.

“At the time, at the time…,” repeated Bob, “time… time… stamp.” He expanded the “More details” tab on Val’s last sent email. “It was sent… at 0137 Hours… the same day she was arrested. That makes sense if you need to skip… wait a second.” Bob quickly tried to remember what he was doing at the time. “I met Val at 0115 that night, then she took off after our chat. That would mean… oh, no.” He logged out of Val’s account and ran to the brig. “Guards, I need to see…”

“Me?” finished a woman next to him. Bob turned his head and was surprised to see Val in her military uniform.

“Val?” he gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“My bail’s been reduced,” said Val, “but I’m still facing trial.”

“Reduced? Why?”

“My attorney has just received evidence that I did NOT enter Laythe at the time of Sheri’s murder,” explained Val. “The DNA on your clothes is no match to ME either, which means I did not kill Sheri or plant your stuff in Wenpont’s room.”

“Wow, Roger came back that fast?” said Bob.

“No, Bill told Roger to check the archives DAYS ago,” answered Val.

“Bill?” wondered Bob.

“I’m still on the hook for the Zeus, the two tourists, and Misty Kerman,” added Val. “I’m now confined to base.”

“One question,” started Bob, “did you stop at any point on your way to meet Victor?”

“No, why?” asked Val.

“Not even to send an email?”

“Bob, it’s less than 30 minutes from here to Victor’s battalion. Why do I need to stop to write an email?”

“Okay… why didn’t you just take an SSTO?” wondered Bob. “Suborbital flights are way faster than atmospheric ones.”

“Yes, but refueling the ascension boosters takes forever,” reminded Val.

“So, you WEREN’T texting and flying?” Bob figured out.

“Whatever gave you an idea like that? OF COURSE I don’t text and fly.”

“So, if you didn’t stop and if you weren’t texting and flying… you WERE hacked,” said Bob.

“Of course I was hacked, Sherlock,” sighed Val. “I saw the emails I ALLEGEDLY sent my brother; they’re not mine. THAT’S why he called me about them weeks ago.”

“Be careful around her,” a guard whispered in Bob’s ear, and Bob left with Val.

“Wait, so BILL told Roger to check the archives?” Bob asked Val.

“Yes. I don’t know why, but at least HE believed I was innocent. YOU were quick to execute me without even reviewing all the facts.”

“That’s because I… uh oh,” said Bob. “The shooter.”

“What about him?”

“He destroyed the tower, hence destroying evidence that you NEVER CAME HERE,” said Bob. “Why bother bombing it if all the logs could do was CLEAR you… unless… that wasn’t your partner.”

“Of course it wasn’t my partner,” sighed Val.

“Which means you NEVER conspired with someone on Laythe to destroy the Zeus,” finished Bob. “You were FRAMED.”

 

On the other side of the base, Scott and Matt were hard at work brainstorming design concepts for a Laythe submarine. Despite popular opinion on the matter, getting the craft to Laythe would be the easy part. The hardest part was ensuring the submarine would work on Laythe as it would on Kerbin. Once they were done with their design concepts for the day, they would email their drawings to Mission Control and await their final verdict on which of their designs, if at all, would be considered for testing. Scott and Matt were given this task since not only were they famous for their knowledge on aerodynamic and aerospace engineering, but their designs had a high success rate when implemented.

“What’s eatin’ ye?” asked Scott.

“I saw the news report on what happened on Kerbin,” answered Matt. “One of my planes crashed and all 68 people were killed.”

“Wait, yer pleane?”

“Yes, I designed it myself,” explained Matt. “That’s not the worst part.”

“What is it?”

“The ejector system failed. Frankly… I think it was sabotaged.”

“Sabotaged?” gasped Scott. “Maybe the pilot set off that stage too early.”

“If he did, the parachutes still would have deployed and the cabin would still be intact after hitting the ground,” explained Matt, then Scott noticed something near Matt’s right arm.

“Are those scrolls?”

“Yes, they are,” said Matt, unrolling them. “As I guessed, the Laythans have sailed these seas LONG before we came.”

“Why are ye taking an interest in THEIR boots?”

“Their boots?” wondered Matt.

“Ye, aren’t they boots on the scrolls?” asked Scott.

“Yes, there are BOATS on the scrolls,” said Matt. “Your accent is pretty thick, you know that.”

“Don’t blame me. I’m from Nye, same as you.”

“Yeah, but I was actually born in Krakopolis,” explained Matt. “My parents moved to Nye when I was nine; couldn’t take the city politics.”

“Me family’s been on Nye fer generations,” said Scott, then Bob entered the room. “Hullo, Bob.”

“Hey, Scott. Hey, Matt,” said Bob.

“What happened to yer arm?” asked Scott.

“I’ve been shot.”

“SHOT?” gasped Matt. “By who?”

“I don’t know, but he killed several others, blew up the control tower, and stole a fighter,” said Bob.

“We’re trying to build a submarine fer Laythe,” explained Scott. “Wanna join?”

“Sure, but first,” started Bob, “please be honest with me.”

“Why would we not?” asked Matt, then Bob looked at both of them in the eyes.

“You all know when Sheri was murdered, yes?”

“How could we naught?” sighed Scott. “I was there for ye at the lass’ funeral.”

“I’m only gonna ask you guys once,” said Bob. “Was Val on board the Zeus at the time?”

“No,” answered Scott.

“Yes,” contradicted Matt, then the two men from Nye looked at each other.

“What do ye mean no?” asked Scott. “Val was nowhere near the station.”

“Yes, she was,” said Matt. “You saw her there too, Scott.”

“Stop lyin’, Matt,” argued Scott. “Val was not on board, period.”

“This is interesting,” Bob said to himself.

“YOU’RE the one who’s lying,” spat Matt. “That standing at attention in microgravity drill didn’t happen on its own.”

“How do you know? It… could have been Avery.”

“Avery’s nowhere near as hard on us as Val is,” retorted Matt.

“Who left the station before Sheri was murdered and then returned after,” interrupted Scott.

“All right. Which craft did she take to get here?”

“Uh… the… Joolplane?” stammered Scott. “It was the only pleane docked with the Zeus.”

“Wrong: you can only take the Laythe SSTO up and down this rock,” said Matt. “Why are you trying to frame Val?”

“She’s a very bad woman who deserves to die,” argued Scott.

“Why, because she was too strict for you?” teased Matt.

“Because SHE TRIED TO KILL US! OKAY?!” shouted Scott.

“Whoa, Val would NEVER try to kill her own crew,” countered Matt.

“Then why did she leave an hour before the asteroid hit?” asked Scott. “More importantly, how come we never saw the asteroid coming?”

“I don’t know,” said Matt. “Power levels and signal strengths were optimal.”

“Did ye check the RADAR?”

“I did, it was working fine… but I don’t know how it didn’t detect an asteroid that size.”

“It’s very simple: Val tampered with the electronics and got off the station while the lass’ partner-in-crime redirected that asteroid to hit us,” summed up Scott.

“I agree that it was tampered with, but NOT by Val,” said Matt. “Exhibit A: she’s terrible with advanced electronics like that. If she tried to mess with it, I would have noticed.”

“Are ye stubborn? Val could have learned that from her friend?”

“Exhibit B: a crew rotation with personnel from Tylo was scheduled DAYS before the asteroid hit,” added Matt.

“So… Val was in Jool orbit the whole time?” questioned Bob.

“Yes, I admit it,” sighed Scott. “Val was… nowhere near Laythe when ye girlfriend was murdered.”

“Then why did you lie?” asked Val’s voice, then Scott turned around.

“Because ye tried to murder us,” answered Scott. “If you wouldn’t go down for the crew’s deaths, then you definitely would for the poor girl’s.”

“Whoa, I did not kill my own crewmembers,” replied Val.

“Most of us died thanks to ye,” argued Scott. “YOU made sure we couldn’t see the asteroid coming until it was too late. THAT’S why ye left an hour before it hit.”

“Even if that WAS me, that does NOT justify framing me,” argued Val.

“So, if Val was in Jool orbit the whole time… thanks, guys. Val, wanna come with?” Bob requested.

“Not now, Bob!” said Val angrily. “I’m about to commit bald scientist-cide.”

“Hey, how’d ye even get out of jail anyway?” asked Scott.

“Mission Control dug up evidence that I WAS framed for Sheri’s murder,” explained Val. “And this ‘partner-in-crime,’ you accused me of having is the one trying to frame me.”

“It was YE PARTNER who killed that girl,” said Scott, then Bob left him, Matt, and Val alone as he headed for sick bay.

“Dr. Melinda?”

“What? I’m kinda busy right now,” said Dr. Melinda, trying to remove a bullet from one of the wounded guards.”

“Oh, sorry,” said Bob. “I need Tami’s autopsy, please.”

“Why?” asked Dr. Melinda.

“Because I doubt that Val drugged her,” explained Bob. “If I remember my medical chemistry correctly, Val should have been in Jool orbit at the time the Mystery Goo and volitium cocktail was administered.” He then stepped out of sick bay and dialed Eli.

“What is it, Bob?” he asked.

“You have a copy of Tami’s full autopsy, right?”

“Of course we do. Why?”

“Good. I also need the inventory logs; specifically, the times when the chemicals found in Tami’s bloodstream were stolen from their closets.”

“Where are you going with this?” questioned Eli.

“Val was FRAMED… for EVERYTHING!”

 

“In light of new evidence, the defense is moving to drop all charges against the accused,” said Attirick as Philzer reviewed the documents in front of him. Val stood confidently next to him.

“Prosecutor?” asked Philzer.

“The people have no objection, Your Honor,” said Ersen.

“Very well,” said Philzer. “Valentina Kerman, you are free to go with full command restoration.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Val as she left the room.

“Sorry I said those things to you back there,” said Bob.

“Hey, whoever framed me did a darn good job at it,” sighed Val. “He played all of us, including you.”

“Actually… now that I think about it, it could have been a ‘she’ that framed you,” commented Bob. “You know, since Sheri’s killer is a woman.”

“She could have had a MALE accomplice,” pointed out Val.

“For a while, Bill and I actually thought you did it.”

“Like I said, the real killer’s good,” said Val, “but we’re better. What about Jeb?”

“He didn’t say anything about it,” answered Bob. “He was more concerned about the moonjet crash than the Laythe murders.”

“Moonjet crash… something’s fishy.”

“What?” asked Bob.

“Whoever framed me for murder hacked my email,” started Val, and Bob nodded in agreement. “She also hacked Gus’ and Linus’ emails and sent the virus to Eeloo FROM LAYTHE.”

“And that same virus also got a moonjet on Dres,” added Bob, “which means our hacker from Dres is here.”

“If she can spoof Gus and Linus, she can sure as heck spoof ME,” said Val. “Whoever’s behind Agaden’s murder must also be the same person who hacked me and/or killed everyone here… she may even be your tower shooter.”

“You think the same person is behind EVERYTHING?” gasped Bob.

“Without a doubt,” said Val. “While we wait for our Dres transfer window, we need to check everyone on that list I gave you. After all, we only have 12 years to wait.”

“Actually, no we don’t,” said Bob. “Bill ran the numbers: we can leave here in less than 200 days with fuel to spare. Heck, we can make it to Dres before he and Jeb do.”

“I’ll get a precise departure time,” Val told Bob. “We only have until then to check out everyone on that list.”

“I’ll start at the A’s, you start with the Z’s,” suggested Bob, then he and Val high-fived.

They had a new mission to start.

[roboslacker]

Cool.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

Just now, roboslacker said:

Cool.

What do you think's going on behind the scenes? Who do you think is the killer now - and why?

[roboslacker]

Well, I still think that Val has some dirt on her. I also think that Irpond is the hacker, and that Agaden was killed because of something she knew. I think that beyond Irpond, there is only 1 member of the conspiracy in the Jool system.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

Are you sure Agaden was killed because of something she knew, or something else? Remember: in Chapter 7, I mentioned "Interplanetary Matchmaker" results - and Bob was #1 on Agaden's list. It may be relevant to Irpond's motive, it may not.

• Also, why would Irpond want to kill:
  • Agaden
  • The U.S.S. Zeus
    • And why do you think she talked to Scott?
  • Sheri
• She also alleges Val's partners threatened Misty's life if she didn't steal Wally's RTG, and Misty corroborates her story. Are they both lying, or is someone else doing a good job at framing Val?
  • If that's the case, you can reasonably assume that it could be the same person that hacked the moonjets.
• Also, why do you think Matt's box-wing airliner was sabotaged?

 

If Irpond is on Bob's list, then your guess about Irpond being the moonjet hacker may be right. Also, who else could be the partner in Jool (Danlong's still on Dres)?

[roboslacker]

1 hour ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

• • And why do you think she talked to Scott?

Because Scott's false testimony would have secured Val's execution if the unknown party had successful destroyed the evidence. I believe that in her talk with Scott, she convinced Scott that Val had intentional destroyed the Zeus, and convinced him to play along.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: SINGLE STAGE TO DEATH

 

90 kilometers above Kerbin, Sally was doing the final checks on the model rocket her class had built. She was in an SSTO, along with a pilot named Obcal and an engineer named Maglock. Though this was not part of Bill’s instructions to recreate the launch which may or may not have set Misty’s house on fire, Sally thought it best to recreate the launch in the most similar conditions by launching the rocket at a condemned house built like Misty’s. This model had not been finished, as Bill’s original design (and the class’ launch replica) had dropped the solid rocket boosters and the initial ascent engine before its apoapsis reached 75 kilometers altitude.

It wasn’t hard for Sally to acquire a spot in the next orbital tourist flight. As she was once a kerbalnaut in the so-called “Golden Age,” – the time when the program made excellent progress in crewed missions (and stranded Guscan in Kerbol orbit) – the administrators were more than happy to offer her a discount. She had received an additional discount when Werner saw the replica of Bill’s rocket, recalling a time decades ago when a younger Bill asked him how it was possible his rocket failed during the re-entry phase. Sally smiled at this deal and gave the administrators a copy of Bill’s old mission log, as well as the coordinates the Krakopolis city government gave her for the condemned house.

The mission plan was to take off from the space center in a mun hopper – which was the predecessor to the moonjet – then ascend into an equatorial orbit around the planet. After the orbital circularization, the plane would adjust its orbit so that, when the rocket was deployed, it would come in at a safe heading toward the condemned house in case the debris missed the target; Mission Control did not want to put any citizens in danger in case that happened. The plane would also descend so that the rocket would be dropped near the apoapsis of the original suborbital trajectory and begin its descent on the target. If all went as planned, the antenna would snap off and the rocket would lose control, causing it to break apart from aerodynamic forces and rain debris on the target.

“So, remind me, when were you in the program?” asked Obcal.

“Over a decade ago,” answered Sally. “Everything set, Maglock?”

“Yes, Sally,” said Maglock. “I heard rumors that you and Admiral Val were cadre rivals.”

“That’s right,” said Sally. “She’s now in jail for murder.”

“Actually, I heard that she was let off,” corrected Obcal.

“What? She was let off?” gasped Sally.

“That’s right. She was framed,” explained Obcal.

“She was FRAMED? By who?” wondered Maglock.

“I don’t know, but rumor has it that it was some guy who destroyed a control tower on Laythe,” said Obcal.

“What happened, did he crash into it?” asked Sally.

“No, he bombed it,” clarified Obcal, “and he shot several others too.”

“Okay, THAT’S a murderer,” remarked Sally.

“Duh, who else could it be?” sighed Maglock.

“I remember destroying the VAB one time in my cadet days,” said Sally. “By accident, of course.”

“Yeah, our insurance rates skyrocketed because of people crashing into the VAB,” commented Maglock. “Do you know how many times people tried to land on the roof?”

“Lots,” guessed Sally.

“Can it, girls,” interrupted Oblong. “T-minus two minutes until release time.”

“Hey, I’m older than you,” reminded Sally. “Maglock, can you help me put my suit on please?”

“First of all, we don’t allow civilians outside of spacecraft,” said Maglock. “Second, we don’t put on suits like that anymore.”

“How do you do it then?” Maglock then gave Sally the rocket and floated in the middle of the cabin with her arms and legs spread.

“EVA me.” The suit closet opened and then Maglock had a self-assembled spacesuit on. “Pretty cool, huh,” she said through the plane’s radio.

“Kinda like Iron Kerbal,” remarked Sally.

“Yep,” said Oblong as he attached a tether to Maglock’s suit. “At the right time, you let go of the rocket and I’ll pull you back in. Then we program it to go on a crashing trajectory with the target and watch the fireworks.”

“Got it,” said Maglock as she stepped in the airlock with the rocket. “Wish me luck.” Once she was outside, she waited for Oblong’s signal to let go of the rocket – which was at an altitude of 87 kilometers. Once the rocket reached the designated burn point, Sally would control the rocket to enter a re-entry trajectory that would take it to the targeted house. Maglock had insisted on controlling the rocket instead, but Mission Control gave that to Sally as she was more familiar with Bill’s model than Maglock’s was.

Oblong and Maglock also suggested that they take aerobraking into account when targeting the house. However, as Bill originally did not consider that when plotting his trajectory to Misty’s house, the replica’s mission would not in order to simulate the original mission. Sally hypothesized that, if the rocket didn’t break up and disintegrate upon re-entry, it would land kilometers away from the target – introducing a strong possibility that Bill’s rocket had nothing to do with Misty’s fire.

“T-minus five, four, three, two, one, release.” Maglock then let go of the model rocket and signaled Oblong to pull her back in. Almost a minute later, it was time for Sally to fire retrograde in order to create a trajectory that would take her to the target house at the same angle as Bill’s did – not accounting for aerobraking.

“You know, your friend’s old mission log said that he lost contact with HIS rocket after it re-entered the atmosphere,” Maglock told Sally. “We have better communication strength than we did 21 years ago.”

“Doesn’t matter if the antenna comes off,” reminded Sally. “Now let’s enjoy the show.”

“You know, if all you wanted was to destroy a house with a rocket, you could have just stuffed it into a bazooka and aimed at the house itself,” said Oblong.

“For the record, this experiment wasn’t my idea,” said Sally. “I mean… yes, I wanted to go into orbit to test the rocket… but the rest of the experiment was Bill’s and Bob’s idea.”

“Two of the Famous Four?” asked Oblong. “Why would THEY want to know if Bill’s toy rocket was accurate? We have WAY better toys than THAT.”

“They think it could have set Misty Kerman’s house on fire years ago,” explained Sally.

“MISTY KERMAN?!” gasped both kerbalnauts.

“You don’t mean THE Misty Kerman, do you?” asked Maglock.

“Uh… what do you mean?” wondered Sally.

“You mean to tell us that you don’t know what she did?” said Oblong.

“I know about her being accused of murder,” sighed Sally. “However, she was innocent.”

“So, you think,” said Maglock. “She covered up her crime well, then stole her victim’s one true love. The only reason she’s not dead yet is because of the double-jeopardy rule.”

“Wait, so Bill tried to KILL her?” asked Oblong.

“No, he didn’t try to kill her,” answered Sally. “He just wanted to drop a toy spy car into her house, but the mission went horribly wrong.”

“Why did he need a suborbital rocket to do it?” inquired Oblong. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to drive near the house and deploy the probe there?”

“He launched from Baikerbanur, and the house was in Woomerang,” explained Sally. “Bill also said his parents refused to let him go near it.”

“I’d have just packed high explosives and targeted her house at night – WHILE accounting for aerobraking,” commented Maglock.

“That means she gets blown up,” Sally pointed out.

“That’s the idea,” spoke Maglock. “She deserves it, she’s a criminal.”

“Even if she WAS guilty, that makes you a murderer,” said Sally. “Also, what if you miss? You’ll hit some random house in Woomerang.”

“Who cares, we’re Badgers,” sighed Oblong.

“Oblong, be nice,” said Maglock. “It is true, though; he and I are Badgers.”

“Wait, if Bill was launching from home, how did he know about Misty’s house in Woomerang?” questioned Oblong. “He needed to get the geographical coordinates of that house before he could plot his suborbital trajectory, which means he needed the address.”

“Bob said that he came by Woomerang to test one of his rocket boosters when he was working in Jeb’s Junkyard,” Sally told him. “That’s also when Bill and Bob first met. Bill then saw this ‘haunted-looking house,’ on his way out and wrote to Bob about it.”

“He was building a rocket?” gasped Maglock. “Why?” Sally then accessed the email Bill sent her.

“He said that the football team hired him to build a remote-controlled spy probe to watch the Woomerang team practice,” started Sally, “but they lied and were actually going to use it on their own girls’ locker room. Though the car itself worked on a separate occasion, the prototype would not have reached Woomerang – despite a 45-degree ascent angle and Jeb… not flying it.”

“What’s the deal with Jeb flying it?” wondered Oblong.

“It says here that Bill refused to go along with the football team’s plan once they told him the truth, so they got Jeb to fly it,” said Sally. “However, he didn’t read the instructions and the rocket had a rapid unplanned disassembly instead.” She paused as Maglock facepalmed herself.

“He’s one of the reasons our insurance bill is high.”

“Meanwhile, Bob and his little brother tried to sneak into Misty’s house – but they chickened out before they entered. Bill was also confident his… seventh prototype was sufficient to safely drop a toy spy car in Woomerang from Baikerbanur; he just needed a field test that was NOT the mean girls of Baikerbanur… which did not require suborbital trajectory. Bill was also curious about Misty’s house, and he and his friends – Jeb and Val – researched it. Bob then gave him the address, Bill got the geographical coordinates, and blastoff. Then, as you already know, Bill’s antenna broke during re-entry; the next he heard of his rocket was when fishermen pulled debris out from the ocean.”

“Mam, could you please put away your kPad?” requested Oblong. “We’re about to descend.”

“Oh, thanks,” said Sally as she put her kPad in her purse – which was stowed under her seat - and fastened her restraining harness.

 

When the plane had landed, Sally was approached by a doctor after she had disembarked. As she was a civilian and not currently an official KSP member, she was required to undergo a medical examination after landing to ensure she did not catch any diseases (especially contagious ones) or otherwise any life-threatening health issues. She had passed with no problems and decided to hit the showers before leaving for the Krakopolis Airport to fly back to Woomerang.

“If Bill didn’t anticipate aerobraking during re-entry, he should have missed Misty’s house,” Sally told herself. “But if that’s the case, then how did craters end up on the walls? Maybe Bill DID take that into account and forgot to log it, but even then with a loss of control it should have gone off-course and…,” Suddenly, she heard a door creak open and footsteps enter the locker room. “Who is it?” There was no answer, and Sally stepped out of the shower before changing clothes. “Uh… hello? Anyone.” Once she heard more footsteps, she turned around and saw someone standing behind her.

“Oh, it’s just you.” Sally then heard a click and was surprised at what came next.

BLAM!

 

Inside Frosty Base, Bill was drawing design concepts for a power plant to place on Eeloo’s surface. Sure, the base had the means to generate its own electricity, but due to the planet’s far distance from the sun the Gigantor solar panels were arguably useless. Whatever idea was implemented by Mission Control would require cables designed to survive Eeloo’s climate and long enough to reach the base. Bill’s favorite idea involved a massive solar array with a lot of RTGs in the middle, all with an RA-100 relay antenna at the top. Though his job was to design a power station, he knew that Eeloo had spotty coverage and it needed to be addressed. Even the Mk. II “Ultimate relay antenna” in geosynchronous orbit over Frosty Base tended to be useless every few nights.

“Man, I wish I could be back on Kerbin testing my rocket,” sighed Bill, then he decided to take a break and write an email to his father.

From: bill@ksp.org

To: [email protected]

Subject: Facing my Fear

Dad,   I saw the email that Sally sent to me on your behalf. I don’t know why you didn’t email me yourself, but I doubt it matters at this point.   I led the investigative board to clues that proved Val was innocent. They haven’t caught the real killer yet, but Bob and Val believe that it’s the same person who hacked moonjets both on Dres and Eeloo. They also think it’s the same person who hijacked an asteroid redirection craft and caused it to hit the U.S.S. Zeus. ·         Don’t worry, I was nowhere near those planets at the time.   Since I’m done testing my skis, I’ve now been assigned to draw design concepts for a power plant on Eeloo. Looks like I’m stuck using the RTGs ·         It will take more than just a solar farm due to the planet’s immense distance from Kerbol, rendering even the Gigantor solar panels almost useless even during the day. ·         A wind farm will do no good at all since the planet doesn’t even have an atmosphere. ·         Mission Control explicitly stated no fossil fuels – or use of fuel cells. ·         Unless it has ports to charge rovers, the station is useless without cables to reach the base/s.   All work-related stuff aside, I really want to tell Val how much I feel about her. You and Mom are the ones who told me I should do it face-to-face; if that is not possible, I should do it over the phone. Even though that was in the days before texting and social media became popular, that lesson is still valuable. However, since Val is on a different planet from me (and since my Kerbnet coverage is spotty here), I can’t call her. We both plan to meet on another planet some day (for work), but due to transfer window timing I won’t be in range to call her for 10 years. It seems like the only option would be to send her a love email, but I am clueless as to how I word it. ·         If I tell her that I know that she has a crush on me, she’ll ask why and I’ll have to tell her about how Bob impersonated me to get her to spill her password (it was for work, and at the time she was a murder suspect) ·         I don’t want to lie to her. She’s a friend and lying is a direct violation of the Engineers’ Code of Honor.   Can you please give me pointers on what to put on my confession email to her? Thank you.   Your son, Bill.   P.S. I will also formally request Mission Control to name the power plant “Edith Station,” in Mom’s honor. She worked in a nuclear plant… which killed her in the long run.

 

Bill then sent his email and resumed calculating prototype power outputs compared to the inputs necessary to sustain themselves in Eeloo’s climate. For those with a negative net power, he either modified them or placed them in a folder labeled “Rejects.” He didn’t want to trash them in case he or someone else thought of a way to make that design work.

“Hey, dude,” said Jeb.

“Hi, Jeb,” replied Bill.

“Whoa, first painting now architecture,” commented Jeb. “Looks like you’re the next Kerbalangelo.”

“They were not paintings, and this is NOT architecture,” sighed Bill.

“Hmm, they look just like buildings. No question: architect.”

“I’m NOT taking up architecture,” Bill repeated. “I’m drawing design concepts for a new power plant to install on Eeloo.”

“So, you’re designing a new base,” said Jeb. “Yep, definitely architecture.”

“Uh FYI, all our surface bases were NOT designed by architects,” reminded Bill. “The ‘buildings’ are just to store the IMPORTANT stuff, like generators.”

“Okay, chill, dude,” said Jeb, looking at the math. “Neat. You should definitely enter this one in a contest.”

“For the hundredth time, it’s… actually, this design does look kind of beautiful,” said Bill. “Only one problem: this is a REJECT.”

“Why, did someone call it ugly?”

“No, Jeb, it has a negative net power production,” explained Bill. “It drains more than it generates.”

“So, what? It may not work here, but it definitely will on Kerbin,” argued Jeb. “Hey, maybe you can put it on the Mun to test-land it.”

“Great idea, Jeb… for the Mun test part,” agreed Bill. “Glad to know you’ve paid attention to the fact that solar panels DON’T work as effectively on Eeloo as they do on planets closer to the sun.”

“Yeah. My Chirper keeps getting cut off because the first super-relays didn’t get enough electric charge to even circularize their orbits.”

“You got any ideas for an Eeloo power plant?” asked Bill.

“Hmm… how about a hot tub,” suggested Jeb.

“Jeb, I’m building a power plant, not a new hotel,” said Bill. “By the way, a hot tub will actually DRAIN more power… unless…” He spent several seconds doing some math in silence, confusing Jeb. “Of course.”

“Told you a hot tub was a good idea.”

“Not a hot tub, a self-heating system that uses the excess heat generated off the RTGs,” explained Bill. “Our thermal control systems use liquid coolant pumped throughout the craft in question to remove excess heat from the hot parts and have it radiated out into space. Theoretically, with the proper liquid and pipe arrangement, dipping the RTGs in liquid will generate enough heat to slash the energy cost of heating the power plant.”

“You mean a reverse radiator?” gasped Jeb.

“Something like that,” said Bill, then Jeb’s kPad pinged.

“Oh, the Daily Kerbin just came out,” said Jeb. “And today’s headlines… some woman got shot at the space center.”

“Come on, man. What can possibly be so interesting about… space center?”

“Yeah,” said Jeb. “The victim was an astrophysics teacher named… Sally Kerman.”

“Oh no, dude,” gasped Bill.

“According to this, one of her students said ‘Oh, it’s just you,’ before she heard a muffled gunshot,” continued Jeb. “She didn’t see the shooter, though.”

“Where was she found?” asked Bill.

“Let’s see… the ladies’ showers.”

“Tell me she had just landed from an SSTO trip in Kerbin orbit,” sighed Bill.

“Hmm… holy crap, she did,” gasped Jeb. “Are you, like, psychic or something?”

“Actually… I…,” stammered Bill, then he told Jeb about the experiment he and Bob planned.

“So, like, you blew up someone’s house 21 years ago?” asked Jeb.

“Maybe, maybe not,” said Bill. “So far, I’m leaning towards ‘Maybe Not,’ because of the low chance of my debris setting a house on fire upon impact. I first thought it may have hit flammable objects NEXT to it – like trees or fallen wood – which then set the house on fire, but the arson report found no evidence of that.”

“Well, what did you expect?” sighed Jeb. “If you’re gonna launch a missile at a house, expect it to catch fire.”

“Says the guy who wrecked my prototype after neglecting to read instructions,” said Bill. “And NO, it wasn’t a missile; it was that toy car protype that you tried to get in the girls’ air duct.”

“I thought it got destroyed before it hit the ground.”

“Well, if you PAID ATTENTION to the staging sequence, you probably would have safely landed… on Victor’s car. Anyway, I built another one; it was the same design of the spy car that you found in the mean girls’ most frequent hangout. However, the rocket design was inadequate, and I had to redesign it to get me to Woomerang via suborbital trajectory.”

“Why would you want to spy on some lady in Woomerang?” asked Jeb. “You said no to girls your OWN AGE, but you were perfectly fine with ones over twice that. That makes no sense.”

“So does girls saying yes to men twice THEIR age, but that’s NOT the point,” sighed Bill. “My parents said that it was forbidden, and I wanted to know why. Besides, if I could land my probe in someone’s house, how hard could it be to land near Woomerang’s football team?”

“But you didn’t, you screwed up.”

“At least Val and I paid attention to what we were doing,” said Bill. “Yeah, I asked Val to fly it. You know why, because she PAYS ATTENTION.”

“Wait, if Val was on board your mission 21 years ago, why wasn’t she involved in your experiment TODAY?” wondered Jeb. “Why is Bob involved, too? He was in Woomerang, AND younger than us.”

“I tested my boosters at his school – you remember how underfunded the science department was – and he gave me Misty’s address,” explained Bill. “In return, I would give him all the data I had from inside the house… but that didn’t work. As for Val… I decided to scrap the rocket design and just drop a solar-powered spy car from a small plane. She flew to the drop zone and deployed it before turning around, the car got inside intel from Woomerang, end of mission.”

“You know, we were totally lying about getting intel on Woomerang,” reminded Jeb.

“I started that mission, and I was gonna finish it,” said Bill. “Besides, how else did your team captain anticipate Woomerang’s every move? He recognized the patterns from the practice videos I sent him.”

“Man, you’re good,” said Jeb. “So… who on Kerbin would want to kill Sally?”

“Someone she knew,” answered Bill. “Remember, someone heard her say ‘Oh, it’s just you,’ before she was shot. That meant she knew the woman who shot her.”

“Or man,” remarked Jeb.

“Uh, how many men do you see in ladies’ rooms?” sighed Bill.

“Uh, a few… myself included,” admitted Jeb.

“Dude, you’re have a serious discipline issue,” commented Bill. “The fact that it was a muffled gunshot meant that it was a planned hit and not some meeting gone bad.”

“Planned hit? Like Agaden was?” said Jeb.

“Yes, only the killer didn’t just mess with a moonjet – or in the most likely case, a mun hopper – and/or poison her. She straight-up shot her,” clarified Bill. “I’d better tell Bob and Val.”

“Val? Why would you tell Val?”

“Hopefully, her admiral-level clearance can get us who Sally knew at the space center that would want to kill her.” Commander Gustov then entered the room.

“Captain,” he interrupted, “your turn for ore collection.”

“Yes, Commander,” acknowledged Jeb. “Man, ore runs have doubled quite suddenly.”

“That what comes with preparing to leave for Dres,” said Bill as Jeb left.

“How are the power plants going?” asked Gustov, then Bill showed him his designs. “Impressive. Be sure to consider power loss in the cables when energy is going from the station to the bases.”

“I also think we could benefit from an RA-100 relay or two on there since our coverage is bad,” added Bill.

“Actually, what we need is a triangular arrangement of ultimate relays in Eeloo orbit,” remarked Gustov. “You are right, though; surface ops could really use some ground coverage.”

“Selecting which design to use is gonna be the tricky part,” said Bill. “Aside from power output, I need to consider the assembly cost and means of descent.”

“Just submit your best designs to KSC, let THEM worry about money and descent,” assured Gustov. “THEY’RE paying for it, NOT us.”

“Not that it matters for Jeb and me,” said Bill. “We would have already left Eeloo by the time it gets here.”

“Why are you going to Dres again?” asked Gustov.

“To track down the woman we believe to be the accomplice to Agaden’s real killer,” reminded Bill.

“Ah, yes… I never trusted Dres,” commented Gustov. “Being at the bottom of the program’s food chain would give scumbags a good place to hide, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, even our own moons get more funding individually than Dres,” said Bill. “The good news is that she has permanent residence on Dres. She’s not going anywhere for a while… hopefully not until AFTER Bob and Val catch her.”

“What if she names the killer and he’s on Laythe?” asked Gustov.

“Tell base security and the military,” said Bill. “Laythe’s on the TOP of the budgetary food chain.”

“Oh, because the air is breathable like on Kerbin,” said Gustov and Bill nodded. “Carry on.” As soon as he left, Bill’s kPad beeped.

Jeb @Bob, @Bill and I just learned that your friend Sally died.
Bob I know, I saw it on the news days ago
Jeb Days ago? I read about it on the Daily Kerbin just now?
Bob Are you sure? Her plane crashed en route to Baikerbanur – NO SURVIVORS
	Bill Plane crash? What are you talking about?
Bob Her box-wing airliner was sabotaged so that it would crash itself and the ejector cabin wouldn’t deploy. That was HER flight number.
Jeb Are you sure there were no survivors?
Bob Yes. 68 seats à 68 bodies
	Bill Then either Sally rose from the dead or she never got on the flight.
Jeb @Bob, you gotta be honest with us. Is Sally running a cult of the undead?
	Bill Come on, @Jeb, don’t be ridiculous.
	By the way, aren’t you supposed to be flying an ore transport?
Jeb I’m waiting for my circularization node.
And it makes perfect sense. Zombies can only be killed with a bullet to the brain.
Bob What the heck is going on here?
	Bill Sally was found dead at the space center JUST NOW – she was SHOT.
Bob SHOT?
	Bill Yes, in the head.
	She was in the locker room when she was shot. It was after she had returned from an orbital flight around Kerbin.
Val Sorry I’m late to the party, guys.
Sorry to hear about your ex-girlfriend, Bob.
Bob First my current girlfriend, then my ex-girlfriend. Who’s next, my mom?
	Bill Your mom’s still alive?
Bob Last I checked (two days ago), yes.
Val Mine, too.
Jeb Mine’s not. She died in a plane crash a little after I was born.
	Bill @Jeb and @Val already know this, but my mom died of cancer when I was 15.
	On the other hand, we know that Sally knew her killer
Bob How so?
	Bill Someone heard her say “It’s just you,” before she got shot.
Jeb I know who we need to talk to.
Joosyu
	Bill You got that idea from Purple Parrot, didn’t you?
Jeb At least it worked
Val That only works in movies
Anyway, we at least know it was a woman that Sally knew.
Jeb Or a man.
Val She was killed in the ladies’ room.
Bob @Jeb does have a point. A man could have waltzed in there when nobody was looking and shot her.
Val @Bill, pull up the accident report for that plane crash @Bob mentioned. I want to know HOW EXACTLY that plane was sabotaged.
	Bill It was a box-wing airliner with a maximum capacity of 68, right?
Bob Yes, @Bill. It was supersonic too.
	Bill Give me a minute.
Bob Sally’s plane was sabotaged (only she wasn’t on it), only to end up getting shot. Definitely a hit
Val What was Sally doing before she died?
Bob She was testing to see if @Bill’s toy rocket set Misty Kerman’s house on fire 21 years ago.
	Bill You were with me that night we went up into space à and then the signal went dead.
Val Oh, yeah. I remember. You then had the idea to just drop the probe into Woomerang with a plane after a suborbital flight didn’t work.
	Bill Got it – Flight LA8202
	The fuse connecting the emergency manual switch to the ejection system was cut, rendering it useless. Additionally, a virus was discovered in the aircraft’s computers. -       It was set to activate as soon as it reached a cruising altitude of 15 km above sea level. -       Once activated, it would alter the controls and cause the plane to crash.
Bob I can tell you that it’s NOT the moonjet hacker. -       Too far away. -       Different plane à different sabotage style.   On the other hand, it may have happened before. I’ll ask Matt about it.
	Bill I could just find it myself.
Bob Matt’s an engineer too – who also designed the aircraft in question.
	Bill Neat
Val One thing’s for sure: Moonjets 79 and 314 and Flight LA8202 are connected by the same thing: hacked to cause death to the occupants.
Jeb It’s perfectly clear who’s responsible: a ring of sinister jet hackers.
	Bill I’m thinking two different people with the same skill set – only Kerbin’s hacker had to get to the hardware too to ensure death.
Val Or one helping the other.
Jeb See, like that. Plus, can you imagine how much money you can get for selling computer viruses intended to crash planes rather than fly them?
	Bill Either way, Sally knew one of them.
Bob And @Val and I need to find the other one before leaving for Dres.
Val Assuming their cameras didn’t work at the time, here’s a list of parameters I think Mission Control should follow to find Sally’s killer. -       (OBVIOUSLY) was within the space center perimeter, visitors included. -       Physically capable of firing a gun. -       Sally knew her (or him, @Jeb) well.
	Bill And was at Woomerang Airport right before LA8202 took off to Baikerbanur.   The plane was working fine the flight TO Woomerang before the crash, so the killer had to sabotage the jet between landing and takeoff (giving him/her about an hour)
Val I agree that Sally was the target. Since hacking the airliner failed, the killer went up to her and did the job herself.
	Bill Why?
Bob I don’t know, but I don’t think @Val or her brother have anything to do with it.
	Bill Maybe this assassin’s the same person who kidnapped Irpond’s mom (and impersonated @Val).
Val You really believe that con artist?
	Bill What? Misty confirmed Irpond’s story about being kidnapped – look it up.
Val I think they’re BOTH lying.
Bob You said it yourself, @Val. Whoever’s framing you is doing a good job at it. Her partner-in-crime (I’m saying her since Sheri’s killer is most likely female) on Kerbin could have kidnapped Misty and impersonated you to force Irpond to steal Wally’s RTG just so you’d get blamed for everything.
Val OR Irpond stole your RTG all on her own and convinced her mom to lie about getting kidnapped (by me).
	Bill There are only three reasons why anyone would steal an RTG: -       Sell it – but even then, one could easily dig up a spare RTG from the ground unnoticed and make a quick buck. Why steal it off an active robot that could recognize you once power was restored? -       Use it - @Bob said that it was found in @Val’s closet, and it was not powering or heating anything. -       Remove blutonium-238 from it – it was working fine once re-installed. If the blutonium was removed, chances were that a lot of people would have died from radiation poisoning.
Val Reason Number 4: Pin it on someone else and say that her mom was kidnapped once the robot woke up.
Bob Reason Number 5: Make sure Wally didn’t work at night when I snuck him into the Clivar site.
-       Not that it matters now. Those soldiers were pulled out of there after @Val was arrested.
	Bill Why would this guy (or girl) want to kill Sally?
Bob Victor said that it was probably some lovesick psycho who killed Sheri. -       More specifically, someone who has an unhealthy obsession with ME.   This killer could also be the same person who stole my stuff and framed Wenpont for it.
	Bill Why bother having your ex-girfriend killed if only the current one posed a threat?
Bob I agree, @Bill – and @Val’s obviously on Laythe, so a cadre grudge is NOT a motive
	Bill You think it could have something to do with Misty’s fire?
Val What do you mean?
	Bill -       Sally was going to take LA8202 to Baikerbanur, but somehow didn’t catch it (my guess, it got overbooked due to the maxed-out passenger capacity and she got booted out at the last minute). -       The saboteur worked quickly to ensure that all fail-safe measures wouldn’t work when the plane lost control. Either this was some random psychopath and it was a coincidence, or someone who wanted her dead KNEW she would be on that plane.
Bob But it didn’t work; she wasn’t on it
	Bill Like I said, there’s a good chance she was kicked out at the last second due to overbooking.
	-       Once the saboteur saw the casualty list, she realized that her attempt to kill Sally DIDN’T WORK. So, she had to make a Plan B -       She then hacked the KSP servers and waited until Sally landed to shoot her – when a witness happened to catch her say “It’s just you.”
Jeb Actually, she posted a picture of her with her SSTO ticket on Chirper before she died. I’m guessing that’s how our killer knew where and when to strike next (space center after it landed)
Bob Why not shoot her BEFORE the launch, or just use a sniper rifle?
Val The space center will be crawling with guards until after the landing, then the security measures loosen à PERFECT time to slip into the locker room and shoot someone (somewhat) unnoticed.
Bob Why would a scientific investigation pertaining to a house fire that was closed 21 years ago be worth killing over?
	Bill Maybe it REALLY WAS arson. -       The arsonist then killed Sally to ensure nobody finds out that my rocket DID NOT start it.
Bob But the arson report never mentioned falling space debris – and the outer walls are NON-FLAMMABLE
	Bill Not to mention the structure should have withstanded enough kinetic energy from broken-up debris if it withstood a direct hit. -       If the windows were hit, then the shattered glass should have been in the crime scene photos
Jeb Unless the house had termites, then the walls would have weakened.
Val If that was the case, then the killer had to know she would be flying to Baikerbanur à that’s how she got Sally’s plane number.
Jeb Why didn’t the killer just try to hack the next flight (the one that Sally actually took)?
	Bill -       She didn’t anticipate overbooking. -       She didn’t want to risk getting caught à someone hanging around too long would look suspicious.
Val She had to know Sally’s game plan in great detail. Besides anyone who was at the space center that Sally knew, the cops should also look at WOOMERANG STAFF.
	Bill Or maybe PARENTS.
Jeb Why not the students?
	Bill I highly doubt that they’re capable of hacking an airliner unnoticed.
Bob Don’t underestimate a Wolverine’s potential
	Bill Also don’t underestimate how tight airports monitor everyone inside (especially student groups) -       And Sally should have noticed a student acting fishy – disappearing for a long period of time between the plane’s arrival and boarding time.   Oh, and FYI, if Sally and her class DID get on that plane, that student would have died too.
Val Theory 1 -       Older staff member has dark secret à she set Misty’s house on fire 21 years ago (Sally should have been shocked if there was a man in that locker room) -       When she gets word of Sally’s new experiment, she knew that she couldn’t let Sally uncover the truth. -       She then gets Sally’s flight number and hacks her plane à but the flight is full. -       Once she sees the crash, she celebrates… until Sally’s not on the casualty list. -       She then checks Sally’s Chirper then heads to Krakopolis for the space center. -       She then waits for Sally after she disembarks the SSTO à Sally recognizes her à BA-BANG!
Bob I’ll have to disagree with your parent theory, @Bill. If that plane wasn’t overbooked, they would have killed their own child.
	Bill You’re right. Maybe it was a parent of a student who DIDN’T go.
Bob That’s more likely.
Jeb Or the parent of a staff member – they would be old enough now to have committed arson 21 years ago.
Theory 2: -       Someone paid a hitman to kill Sally, and this hitman just happened to be someone Sally knew.
Theory 3: -       Sally was involved in a ring of jet hackers, but her cult deemed her a threat. -       She KNEW her plane would be hacked so she decided to take an overbooked flight. -       Sally counted on getting booted off so she could take the next flight – avoiding death. -       When that idea didn’t work, her cult sent a (probably smoking hot) hitman to the space center to shoot her.
Bob What makes you think she’s hot?
Jeb Nobody suspects the hotties.
Val I do. As a female, I should know the tricks of the trade. I actually helped @Bill spy on the bullies of Baikerbanur one time.
-       Until @Jeb blew it.
Jeb How was I supposed to know you’d launch a toy car (THAT DIDN’T WORK) at their house?
	Bill It worked, all right. The only reason it didn’t the first time was because you set off the staging too early.
Val You couldn’t get to their oversized house to cause a distraction in time for @Bill to deploy the probe, so we sent you before lift-off.
Bob Who flew the rocket to Misty’s? I know @Bill built it, but I doubt he controlled it.
	Bill @Val did.
Bob Oh. If @Jeb did, I’d have blamed the mission failure on bad piloting.
	Bill If not Misty’s fire, what would be worth killing Sally over?
Bob Mission Control gone corrupt (like they did with Victor’s genocide).
Val I didn’t know it was true until someone blackmailed me – AND I checked the documents for legitimacy (they’re real)
S/he also asked me to stay away from @Bob or else they would be leaked.
Bob But you didn’t, we talked constantly since you got drunk.
Jeb I saw that video of you, @Val. I haven’t seen you that happy since we came back from Minmus for the first time.
Bob The same guy who blackmailed you is also the same guy who was hiding at the landing strip after you took off.
Val What guy at the landing strip?
Bob After you took off, I heard a sound from behind. A guard and I looked around, but nothing.
Val @Bob, next time you see Wenpont, can you please ask her where she was and what she was doing when I took off.
	Bill We doubled ore harvesting operations here for the pod’s trip to Dres. I suggest you do the same for your pod, @Bob and @Val.
Jeb You might wanna write down your crew roster for your Dres flight, @Val.
Bob Don’t forget me.
	Bill Here’s my idea for the Eeloo pod -       Me -       @Jeb -       Hadgan (he insisted) -       (Medic) -       (Engineer familiar with the moonjets) -       Dilsby Kerman à scientist reassigned to Dres (he’s going anyway) -       (I DON’T KNOW)
Bob -       Me -       @Val -       Irpond -       Matt -       Scott -       (Medic) -       Guscan
Val No way I’m letting Scott on board, not after what he did.
	Bill Wait, what did he do?
Val He lied and said that I left the Zeus before Sheri was murdered – he tried to FRAME me
Bob In his defense, he wanted revenge for you (supposedly) destroying the Zeus. At the time, he didn’t know that you were framed for that too
Val For all you know, he orchestrated everything.
	Bill Even his own death? If he was on board the Zeus when the asteroid hit, there was a far greater chance of suicide.
Jeb Just like the Kerbalnational Space Station was a huge insurance scam
	Bill @Jeb, the monopropellant tank was hit by undetected debris in retrograde orbit, causing a leak that caused the staton to de-orbit.
Bob We get it.
	Bill NOT insurance fraud.
Val Speaking of which, @Jeb, what makes you think that Agaden’s death was for insurance money?
Jeb Who, me?
Val Who else could come up with a ridiculous theory like that?
Jeb I did not.
Val Then how come @Bob told me about your theory about Moonjet 314 being an insurance scam?
Jeb He’s lying – I never said that at all to him (I double-checked my text logs)
The only time I mentioned insurance to anyone was to one of your students, Neiling Kerman. She said that it was highly unlikely someone took out a life insurance policy on Agaden, but I checked anyway.
Turns out, her 19-year-old sister with osteoporosis has a life insurance policy on Agaden – NOT SO RIDICULOUS NOW.
Val What’s her sister’s name?
Jeb Lisa Kerman – but I doubt KSP lowered the minimum age limit for enlistment.
Either Neiling told @Bob – who told you – or he’s lying.
Bob Okay, you got me. It was MY idea (all mine)
I was just too embarrassed to admit it and pinned it on Jeb – seems ridiculous that Agaden (and Harriet) was insurance fraud.
	Bill Aside from the medically problematic sister, that does sound kind of ridiculous.
	I read the moonjet insurance policy front to back – not a cent if it was pilot error, but Mission Control gets the money if it was proven sabotaged.
	If that was the case, then we’d hear of LOTS more crashes besides 79 and 314.

 

Bill’s connection then broke, cutting him off from his friends on Laythe. While he waited for the connection to be restored, he resumed drawing his designs for the Eeloo power plant. Besides that, and more ski testing, he, Jeb, and Gustov needed to finalize the crew roster for the pod to Dres 100 days before it would launch. He knew he and Jeb were going, and Dilsby was ordered by Mission Control to head for Dres at the next transfer window. Dilsby was skeptical at first, until Gene emailed him a recorded video of him giving the orders; it was procedure to send video files to personnel in case someone in the program was getting spoofed for malicious purposes. He also needed someone who was a qualified transit medic to travel with them, tallying the passenger count up to four. Hadgan had insisted earlier on going to Dres, as he wanted to make amends for killing Agaden by finding the one who tricked him; after Gustov approved it, the count would then be at five.

Bill wanted to take the Mark Vb interplanetary travel pod to Dres, but Gustov reminded him that there were more options available – like Matt’s high-capacity SSTO, for instance. He thought that was unnecessary and wasteful; it was meant to serve as an evacuation measure for Eeloo, and he didn’t need all the personnel on Eeloo to catch Danlong. Gustov eventually conceded when Bill convinced him that the SSTOs could not be trusted until the hacker was caught.

Almost an hour later, Bill received a direct message from Bob

 

I lied about whose theory the insurance fraud was
	Whose idea was it actually?
Val’s.
	Why didn’t you just say so?
She was drunk in sick bay. If I tell her about it, she’ll recall giving me her password.
	You could just say she was so loaded that she let it slip.
After I asked.
	Her memory will be fuzzy.
Here’s an idea:
I ask for her password WHILE SHE’S SOBER. Not only can we check the people on our list faster, but she won’t think I got her password before.
	No-can-do
	-       In compliance with KSP regulations, she has to grant you temporary clearance (that can either end by expiration or revocation) so you can look at complete personnel files. -       You know how much of a rule-follower Val is.
Okay. Doesn’t hurt to try.
	Does she have a boyfriend?
No, why?
	I have a crush on her, but I need help on how to approach her despite the fact I’m on a different planet from her (literally). I emailed my dad for help, but since you have more recent experience (Sheri), you are also a valuable source of information.
Wait, how long have you had a crush on Val?
	I’d rather not talk about it.
First step in getting a girl: you gotta be honest with yourself
	High school. I just never had the guts to tell her.
Dude, you totally missed out. She practically confessed her deep-rooted love for you when she spilled her password. -       Keep in mind she thought I was you and she was drunk
	The next time I will be in range to phone her will be in about 10 years, so I’ll be stuck with email and direct messaging.
	I want to tell her I like her, but I much rather do it face-to-face or over the phone. It seems like I’m stuck with the love emails until we see each other.
Please let me know when your dad replies.
	Wait, I know someone else who can help
Who?
	Jeb Senior. According to my parents’ friends, he used to be “The Ladies’ Man,” before he met Jeb’s mom. -       He even dated my mom for a while before she met Dad.
Seems like you got that covered. I’ll forward you one of my love letters to Sheri.
	Are you sure about its reliability? The two of you have been in the same crews since you first met (Dres à Duna à Laythe). -       Val and I are on different planets.
If I had to guess, I’d say that your dad will tell you to give it a shot. DON’T BACK DOWN.

 

Bill didn’t feel confident in his chances with Val. If she had a crush on him since they were in high school, he should have seized the opportunity to ask her out on something besides rocket and aircraft testing. He first met Val in fifth grade, after he woke up from his coma. She told him that she wanted to fly Bill’s plane; Bill refused since he didn’t want to crash again, but Val promised him that she was not as crazy as Jeb. Though Bill installed ejector seats in his new plane, Val managed to fly the plane and land it without a scratch. Jeb got jealous that Bill didn’t let him fly the plane, but Val dared him to fly better than her. Jeb accepted the challenge, and both he and Val tied in the resulting airshow; they had to do it in the flight simulators at the space center Baikerbanur, since the city government prohibited the children from flying planes without valid licenses.

Val, Bill, and Jeb had been close friends since then. The three of them had gotten involved in numerous antics in their school days, from winning dodgeball matches – with Bill’s new turret – to performing musical numbers at their school talent shows. They even helped each other out whenever one of them needed it; examples included getting Jeb out of prison for reckless driving (through proving his speedometer was improperly manufactured), comforting Bill after his mother died, and helping Val spy on the popular girls in school. Though Val was the pilot of that delivery rocket, she was more disciplined and focused than Jeb was – as he almost killed Val and Victor with Bill’s first prototype by not reading the instructions first. When that mission was successful – until Jeb blew it by dimwittingly exposing Bill’s probe to the girls – Bill and Val decided to launch a probe into suborbital flight at Woomerang. Their target was Misty Kerman’s house, where rumor had it a murderer resided.

However, despite Val’s piloting and Bill’s proven-successful navigation system and calculations, they lost contact with the probe during re-entry and the mission ended in what was presumed a catastrophic failure. Val suggested that Bill give it a rest, as the football team originally asked for a rocket-delivered spy car to get pictures of the girls in the locker room; but Bill was determined to get some recon shots of Woomerang’s team. Jeb wanted to fly the plane that would drop the probe into Woomerang, but Bill refused for two reasons: Jeb was more likely than Val to get spotted and shot down before entering the drop zone, and Jeb Senior had forbidden Bill from letting Jeb fly anything he built unless Jeb had a valid pilot’s license. Eventually, their mission was a success and the Badgers were able to gain a foothold on their sworn rivals.

“Why did I miss out?” sighed Bill, then he got another email. “I wonder who that could be.”

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: Experiment Summary

Mr. Bill Kerman,   Hello, this is Barlas Kerman, a student at Woomerang Institute.   I am aware that you were expecting an email from Mrs. Sally Kerman. Unfortunately, she was murdered at the space center earlier today. Before I go on and rant about how I want to butcher the monster who did this, I would like to inform you about the progress we made on the experiment concerning your rocket.   According to your old mission log, you plotted your suborbital trajectory to land at Misty’s house. However, as there is no mention of you accounting for aerodynamic forces during re-entry BEFORE launching, you missed your target completely. ·         Both times we launched replicas at targets in the same manner as you did, all the debris ended up scattered kilometers away (according to the debris tracker site and our student recovery teams) ·         There is also a news article from 21 years ago about fishermen in Woomerang recovering debris from the ocean months later. The pieces looked just like your original prototype. ·         Contact was lost with both replicas during re-entry, so if you were spot-on with your trajectory you would have lost control and missed; there was no mention of an autonomous program in your mission log.   Even if you did account for aerodynamic re-entry in your design and trajectory plotting, chances were you should have been able to land your spy car in the house with no problem – except for the broken window. We also built a third replica but tore it apart for debris collision tests. In other words, we checked to see if the re-entering debris would have enough kenetic energy to penetrate and/or ignite Misty’s walls. More specifically, we heated them up and fired them at the model walls at the same velocity as they would at that point in re-entry ·         The most damage the debris did was put some dents in them. I found that weird since the arson investigation report found holes in the walls. ·         We also weakened some walls in case the house had a termite infestation. Though it caused some holes in the models, the debris was embedded in the walls and did not ignite.   To sum up, you did NOT cause Misty’s house fire. I’m no arson investigator, but I find it very suspicious that someone would blame it on you. ·         Personally, I think Misty lit it up herself – and used the falling debris as an excuse to cover it up. Even so, why would the cops say that it was faulty furnace – that you could stuff an obese man inside? ·         I also think she shot Sally to cover up her crime, then ran away before that student – who I’m not at liberty to name – saw her face.   Sincerely, Barlas Kerman

 

“That’s weird,” said Bill. “If I DIDN’T start Misty’s fire, then what DID?

Edited February 24, 2019 by Mars-Bound Hokie

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: MEANS, MOTIVE, AND OPPORTUNITY

 

Today was a special day for the people in the Jool system, for it was the annual Team-Up Day celebration. On the 245^th day of each Kerbin year, the kerbalnauts in the Jool system would commemorate the day where the Strike Force teamed up with the Ryagii Tribe and formed an alliance between Laythe and Kerbin. Though many today decided not to celebrate after learning about Victor’s massacre, many others celebrated anyway for they believed there was no other alternative.

“If you’re going to protest Team-Up Day, at least do it after we’re done,” said Captain Rabal, whose crew was gathered around Vallhenge in their EVA suits; there was a base close by. “Pastor, would you like to start us off?”

“Why do we have a pastor here?” whispered one of the kerbalnauts.

“They think this place used to be a religious site,” answered his friend.

“Save it for AFTER the prayers,” ordered Rabal, then Gerdon – a pilot who also functioned as a pastor – thanked God for their alliance with the native Laythans and the opportunity to make the moon safe to explore.

“Captain,” said a base engineer named Donbin. “We got company approaching.”

“What now, more protestors?” sighed Rabal.

“No, it’s Admiral Val,” answered Donbin.

“Admiral Val?” gasped Rabal.

“Yes, mam,” acknowledged Donbin. “She said that she wants to speak with you as soon as she lands.”

“Give her the coordinates and tell her I’ll be there,” ordered Rabal.

“At once, mam.” A few minutes later, Rabal was saluting Val – who was accompanied by Bob – at the base airlock.

“I was actually expecting you,” Rabal told Val.

“Expecting her?” gasped Bob.

“Yeah. With all these recent protests, I figured you’d might wanna come here and clear things up,” explained Rabal.

“Oh, I thought it was about something else,” Bob sighed in relief.

“And you must be Bob Kerman,” guessed Rabal as she and Bob shook hands.

“How’d you know?” asked Bob.

“I saw you give a eulogy at Sheri Kerman’s funeral,” answered Rabal. “Sorry for your loss,” Rabal then looked at Val, “and congratulations on your exoneration.”

“Someone FRAMED me for killing Sheri and destroying the Zeus,” remarked Val, “and the airstrip was trashed.”

“Am I glad I’m NOT on Laythe,” commented Rabal. “This place looks LESS cursed by comparison.”

“I’ve already ordered a full lockdown on that moon,” said Val. “Nobody gets on, nobody gets off. Everybody stays within the atmosphere if they need to fly.”

“Yet here you are,” Rabal pointed out.

“Only me and two other people I KNOW weren’t involved in the tower bombing,” said Val. “Bob was chasing the shooter – along with several guards – Duvey was reparing the base’s ore converter, and I was in jail.”

“You were CHASING the shooter?” gasped Rabal. “Even for a civilian, that’s gutsy.”

“Helps if you have your own gun,” said Bob. “Can we get to why we’re here, please?”

“We’d like to speak with three of your subordinates,” Val told Rabal.

“Sounds pretty specific,” commented Rabal. “May I ask WHO exactly?” Val then took out her kPad and showed the captain a list with three names circled on it. “Kafield Kerman, Penelope Kerman, and James Kerman. Yep, they’re on-base. What is this about, and why THEM?”

“They were on Poseidon’s Palace around the time a moonjet on Laythe was hacked,” explained Val, “and they were on Dres at some point in their careers. We would like to speak with them one-by-one.”

“Okay, but I doubt you’ll get anything out of Penelope,” commented Rabal. “She hates you.”

“Let’s find out why,” said Bob as Rabal led him and Val to a massive group standing silently around the bunk doors. “Val, I don’t think this is your fan club.”

“There she is!” said one of the protestors. “There’s the devil’s sister!”

“You should kill yourself!” shouted another.

“Everyone, remain civil,” Rabal commanded. “They just want Penelope Kerman.”

“Or what, you’ll wipe us out in cold blood?” a woman yelled. “No way I’m going with you.”

“That’s her,” said Rabal. “Corporal, you’ll just have to come with them.”

“What, so she can finish the job?” replied Penelope. “She tried to kill us once; she’s gonna try again.”

“First of all, I had NOTHING to do with the Zeus getting destroyed,” said Val. “Secondly, I am just as disgusted at what Victor did as you are. That does NOT give you the right to take it out on me.”

“Why should I believe you?” asked Penelope. “He was your brother, and you had everything to lose if his secret went out. THAT’S why you covered it up.”

“Until a few days ago, I thought it was just slander,” said Val, “but that’s not why we’re here.”

“Miss, whatever protests you have planned can go on without you for ten minutes,” said Rabal.

“Fine, Captain,” sighed Penelope, turning to the crowd. “If I don’t make it back, avenge me.”

“I swear, your brother made things worse here,” Rabal told Val. “You know how many mutiny threats I got if I went ahead with the Team-Up Day ceremonies?”

“You and me both, Cap,” said Val, and the four of them left the crowd.

“What is this about?” asked Penelope.

“You were on Dres several years ago, right?” started Bob.

“That’s right,” said Penelope. “My first interplanetary assignment.”

“What did you do there?” questioned Val, and Penelope sighed in boredom.

“Just ore runs and truck driving,” she answered. “Nothing really cool, especially coming from that boring planetoid.”

“Hey, if it’s larger than a Class E asteroid and has no other celestial bodies orbiting it, it’s a planet,” Bob disagreed.

“Cool it, Bob,” said Val. “I understand you got promoted on Dres.”

“Yeah, for doing the same thing over and over for years,” sighed Penelope. “The only ‘fun’ thing I got to do there was remotely pilot a lander to the Defiant after the OTHER one got sick.”

“So, why’d you leave?” inquired Val.

“Meh, it was the closest transfer window open by the time I got around to it,” said Penelope. “Plus, that was my chance to serve under the legendary Admiral Valentina Kerman… or at least you WERE a legend.”

“Why were you in Poseidon’s Palace several months ago?” asked Bob.

“Doy, the Zeus survivors were sent there for medical and psych evals,” said Penelope. “After that, I flew up here to Vallhenge and I’ve been here since.”

“You weren’t there for anything else?” questioned Val.

“No. I started my Jool assignment on Bob – doing MORE ore runs – and then I was stationed on the Zeus before it was destroyed.”

“That’s funny, I thought you were flying in from Pol,” stated Val.

“Bop, Pol, what the heck’s the difference,” sighed Penelope.

“Yeah, a lot of people get them mixed up,” commented Bob.

“Off to a good start,” said Val. “How well did you know Harriet Kerman?”

“WHO’S Harriet Kerman?” responded Penelope.

“A Dres pilot like you,” answered Bob.

“Well, then I’d better ask her how much fun she’s having now,” said Penelope.

“Then you’d better fly to Kerbin and buy a shovel,” said Val. “She’s dead.”

“What?” gasped Penelope. “What happened?”

“She was killed in a moonjet crash on Dres,” answered Val. “Her body was then transported back home in a sealed cooler.”

“Moonjet?” said Penelope. “I’m not surprised; more crashes involve SSTOs than rovers AND conventional landers. Why are YOU asking about her?”

“She was my student,” sighed Val, “and we think that her jet may have been tampered with.”

“Ha, please,” scoffed Penelope. “Those things will kill you even if you DON’T mess with it.”

“Okay, do you know Agaden Kerman?” asked Bob.

“Yes, I do. It’s that elite cadet on Eeloo who got poisoned,” said Penelope.

“And her jet crashed in the same fashion as Harriet’s,” finished Val. “BOTH were hacked, and it caused them to crash and almost kill their occupants; Harriet was just unlucky.”

“Hacked… wait, you’re SERIOUS?” Penelope gasped in shock. “They were sabotaged? Another reason to stay AWAY from the moonjets here.”

“Okay, did you notice anything weird going on while you were on Dres?” started Bob. “Rumors, suspicious deaths… blackmail ops?”

“The only thing fishy I knew about was the guys smelling like fish after entering the truck,” answered Penelope, and Bob smirked.

“Yeah, we do that a lot,” he commented.

“Really, nothing else?” asked Val, leering at Penelope.

“Okay, so I heard talk about this guy who was blackmailing crewmembers,” admitted Penelope.

“You get a name?” inquired Bob.

“If I knew who he was, I’d tell you,” said Penelope. “The weird thing is that he was said to blackmail WOMEN more than he did MEN.”

“Why?” asked Bob, but Val interrupted him.

“Thank you for your time, Corporal,” she told him, then she, Bob, and Rabal left Penelope to resume the protest.

“What was THAT about?” wondered Rabal.

“One of the passengers who was on the moonjet Harriet piloted was repeatedly accused of extortion,” explained Val. “Penelope knows nothing.”

“How did you know? She said that she knew about the blackmail operation,” asked Bob.

“Only that there were rumors about them,” said Val, “but she thought it was a MAN.”

“Wait, so this blackmailer’s a woman?” inquired Rabal.

“You got it,” said Bob. “The part about her blackmailing more WOMEN than MEN, we DIDN’T know.”

“I kinda guessed,” commented Val. “Speaking from experience, women tend to find juicier secrets when gossiping with other women than they do men.”

“I don’t get it,” replied Bob. “If the program is mostly male, why target the females? Wouldn’t it make more sense to target the MEN, where there would be more dirt available?”

“Maybe there are more women on Dres than there are men,” guessed Rabal.

“Like I said, women are more likely to dig up dirty gossip when talking to other women than they are talking to men,” said Val. “Bob, name the most scandalous thing you remember happening while you were in Woomerang.”

“Like the legend of Misty Kerman, the murderer who avoided punishment,” said Bob.

“Besides that,” Val requested.

“Hmm, well… I remember hearing about a bunch of guys in our football team who hired the science students to douse the cheerleaders in a dopamine-increasing love potion,” Bob recalled, then he started to chuckle. “The cheerleaders fell in love, all right – with US.”

“You think that’s funny?” asked Rabal.

“Yes, since the football players’ plan wasn’t thought through,” explained Bob. “Where’d they come from, Baikerbanur?”

“If Sally was alive, she’d tell you TEN TIMES dirtier stories than that,” said Val. “Trust me.”

“Speaking of Sally, one of her students thinks Misty Kerman shot her,” commented Bob. “Bill emailed us and said that his rocket COULD NOT have caused her house fire.”

“I know, I got it too,” Val responded. “Just because Bill’s rocket didn’t commit arson doesn’t mean that Misty Kerman shot Sally.” Her kPad then buzzed and she unlocked it.

“Whatcha got?” asked Bob after Val read it for 30 seconds

“YES!” cheered Val, bringing her fist down in triumph. “Eh… Captain, you have clearance to your base personnel files, right?”

“Yes, Admiral,” acknowledged Rabal.

“Good,” said Val. “Look for Kafield Kerman and James Kerman.” She then left for some privacy as Rabal and Bob walked in the other direction.

“What’s with her?” asked Rabal.

“I don’t know,” said Bob, then the two of them approached one of the bunks and Rabal unlocked the doors.

“Get up!” ordered Rabal as she tossed a man out of the bed.

“Oh, I’m awake, Cap,” he stammered as he hastily stood up. “Sergeant Kafield, reporting for duty.”

“Relax, Sarge. We just want to ask you some questions before you resume sleeping,” said Rabal. “Remember: you got the night shift.”

“Yes, Captain,” acknowledged Kafield. “How can I help you?”

“You were on Dres a few years ago, correct?” started Bob.

“That is correct, sir.”

“What were you doing?”

“I was an SSTO pilot,” answered Kafield, surprising Bob.

“Uh… what kind?”

“Moonjets and mun hoppers,” said Kafield. “Fun fact: I flew myself to Laythe in a mun hopper.”

“Really, you didn’t take an interplanetary travel pod?” asked Bob. “Also, those things can only take three people at a time.”

“At least I can land directly on Laythe while I need to wait for someone else to pick me up if I use the pod,” said Kafield.

“Did you ever fly Moonjet 79?” questioned Bob.

“How should I know? It’s not like they let you keep the rental receipts.”

“But they keep it in your file,” reminded Rabal.

“Search all you want,” said Kafield. “Why are you so interested in that ONE jet?”

“Hmm, let’s see… hey, you did,” said Rabal, and Bob glared at Kafield.

“Were you involved in the death of Harriet Kerman?” he questioned, and Kafield’s eyes widened.

“Harriet Kerman?” Kafield gasped. “No, we loved each other. When I heard about her death, I was devastated. Mission Control had to put me on leave for five days.”

“Then why were you piloting Moonjet 79?”

“I don’t know; I only did small crew transfers,” answered Kafield.

“He’s right, the last time he flew Moonjet 79 was for a crew rotation to Edwards Mobile Base,” confirmed Rabal.

“Does it have a date?” asked Bob.

Rabal scoffed. “What DOESN’T.” He looked at Kafield’s file, then accessed his notes on his own kPad.

“Wait a minute,” said Bob. “His landing time was an hour before Harriet took off… from that same mobile base.”

“What does that mean?” wondered Rabal.

“Kafield’s crew rotation was the last flight Moonjet 79 did before it tried to kill Harriet,” explained Bob.

“Wait, how does a jet try to kill someone?” asked Kafield. “I’ve heard of poor designs before, but since when does it TRY to kill you. Is it like that old movie, The Asteroid Odyssey?”

“Something like that,” said Bob. “Did you notice anything fishy going on between when you landed that day and when Harriet took off?”

“Let me think…,” started Kafield. “Well, there was that one girl who Harriet didn’t like that got on board the jet with her.”

“Why didn’t she like her?” wondered Bob.

“Because that girl was blackmailing Harriet and a bunch of the other crewmembers, including Harriet,” said Kafield. “If I hadn’t kissed Harriet at the last minute, she would have clawed her eyes out.”

“Does ‘that girl,’ have a name?” questioned Rabal.

“I think it was Danny… no, wait, it was Danielle… or Dana. I DO remember it started with ‘Dan’ or something like that.”

“Danlong?” inquired Bob.

“That could be it,” said Kafield. “How did you know.”

“There were two others in that jet when Harriet crashed; Danlong Kerman and Alva Kerman,” clarified Bob. “I also know Danlong was accused of extortion, and she now has permanent residence on Dres.”

“I don’t know who Alva is,” commented Kafield.

“Do you remember anyone… hanging around too close to that jet?” said Bob. “Anyone… mess with the hardware or plug something in to the probe core?”

“Let me think… now that you mention it, Danielle DID enter the jet before MY guys were all out of there,” said Kafield. “I don’t know why the rush; it’s not we ever have seating trouble.”

“Did you see her do anything?”

“Besides shutting the airlock behind her right after I disembarked, no.”

“Did anyone else get in besides these three?” asked Bob, showing Kafield pictures of the three women.

“Hmm… nope. Where are you going with this?”

“We think Moonjet 79 was sabotaged and reprogrammed to kill Harriet,” said Bob.

“I doubt it. The investigative board said that she was texting and flying,” contradicted Kafield.

“While she was HIT OVER THE HEAD?” replied Bob.

“I don’t know about that, but I guess that’s expected in a fatal plane crash,” said Kafield. “Why do you think it was sabotaged?”

“We’ll get to that later,” said Bob. “Why were you in Poseidon’s Palace several months ago?”

“I was on leave,” answered Kafield. “I flew to the military installation to see some buddies from the military.”

“That’s on the other side of the planet,” argued Bob. “Why were you at Poseidon’s Palace?”

“Captain, are you seriously allowing him to question what I do on my leave time?” said Kafield.

“Under normal circumstances, I’d have thrown him out,” answered Rabal. “Now, what were you doing at Poseidon’s Palace?”

“Okay, fine, I was looking for chicks,” Kafield confessed. “Before I could return to Vall, Laythe was on lockdown. I figured I might as well go to base and… find… someone to fill in the hole my heart sustained from losing Harriet.”

“Lockdown?” wondered Bob. “Why?”

“Nobody really knows,” said Kafield. “Some say that someone drowned some girl and set up Admiral Val, others say… the admiral really did do it.”

“He’s talking about Sheri,” Bob told Rabal, “and yes. Admiral Val WAS framed.”

“Where did you land when going to Laythe?” asked Rabal.

“The runway near the military base,” answered Kafield. “I took a mun hopper to the installation, then I rode an air-breathing jet to Poseidon’s Palace to… put myself out there. Any other questions?”

“We’ll need to confirm your story,” said Bob, then Kafield asked to type a number into Bob’s kPad.

“A girl named Grarey gave it to me before I left,” said Kafield. “I’ve been calling her since. Anything else?”

“How well do you know Agaden Kerman?” finished Bob.

“I didn’t even know she existed until that story about her getting poisoned blew up on Kerbnet,” said Kafield. “Why ask?”

“Because her jet crashed in the same manner as Harriet’s,” said Bob. “Only this time, Agaden wasn’t hit over the head; she was with Jeb.”

“I’m surprised she was poisoned,” commented Kafield. “Knowing Jeb’s reputation, he doesn’t need POISON to kill anyone – just his crazy head.”

“Eh… one last question. Was Moonjet 79 working fine the last time you flew it?”

“Worked like a charm,” said Kafield.

“Thank you,” said Bob as he and Rabal left him. “We gotta tell Val we found her student’s boyfriend – AND the last one to pilot Moonjet 79 before it crashed.”

“Admiral!” shouted Rabal, but she found Val in the EVA suit closet with the door open.

“What am I gonna do?” she asked herself, looking at her kPad. “What am I gonna say?”

“Admiral are you okay?” interrupted Bob, and Val turned to him.

“Oh, hey guys,” said Val. “Whatcha get?” Bob and Rabal then told her everything they learned from their discussion with Kafield. “Whoa, I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”

“Probably because you prohibited romances in your cadre,” commented Bob.

“Sounds right,” said Val.

“Just who was that?” asked Rabal. “Was it General Jackson?”

“No, she can write her own emails to him,” said Bob. “I’m guessing… the prime minister.”

“The PRIME MINISTER?” gasped Rabal. “Why would he contact YOU?”

“It’s not the prime minister of Kerbin,” said Val. “It’s… personal.”

“We’re gonna talk to James now,” said Bob. “Wanna come?”

“No, you go ahead,” answered Val. “I’ll wait here.”

“Not in that closet, you’re not,” objected Rabal.

“Fine,” sighed Val. “I’ll go with you.” The three of them put on EVA suits and found James working on the ISRU converter outside.

“Hey, James,” shouted Rabal.

“Yes, Captain,” said James, putting away his power tools.

“This is Dr. Bob Kerman and Admiral Val Kerman,” explained Rabal. “They would like to ask some questions about your activities on Dres and Laythe.”

“Okay, shoot,” said James. “I opted out of Team-Up Day ceremonies by taking extra work, so I have all day.”

“What were your duties on Dres?” asked Val.

“I was the in-situ resource utilization specialist,” answered James. “I was moved from base to base – and even several trucks – to assist with ore conversion to fuel, oxidizer, and monopropellant.”

“So, basically, you were an ISRU handyman,” Bob summarized.

“Yes, like that,” confirmed James. “Whenever I got comfortable with one place, I was yanked into another. Not even the mobile base could hold on to me; why not just drive to that spot?”

“Did you work with the hardware or software?” asked Bob.

“Hardware,” said James. “No software in the solar system will do any good if the machine’s broken. Besides, how many ISRU systems malfunctions have failed because of SOFTWARE glitches?”

“He’s right. Usually something overheats or gets jammed before we need to call him,” confirmed Rabal.

“Did you ever work with Moonjet 79’s converter?” questioned Val.

“How should I know? I don’t pay attention to the numbers; just their PHYSICAL converter problems,” said James.

“Did you work with any moonjets?” asked Bob.

“Yeah, but like I said I don’t remember their numbers.”

“Do you know Harriet Kerman?” questioned Val.

“I KNEW her,” sighed James. “She died in a plane crash years ago… terrible thing.” He kicked a nearby rock away from the base. “But… that’s to be expected when you’re texting and flying.”

“She wasn’t texting and flying,” said Val. “She was hit over the head and her plane was sabotaged.”

“Whoa, are you saying she was MURDERED?” gasped James, and Bob and Val nodded. “Let me assure you I had NOTHING to do with that. I was in-transit to Eve when I heard about Harriet’s crash.”

“Eve, what were you doing on Eve?”

“Well, I’m an ISRU specialist,” started James. “I was assigned to handle new converters designed to NOT set off raw explodium.”

“Okay, so you went to Eve,” said Val. “Where’d you go after that?”

“Home for extended leave,” sighed James. “If it were up to me, that would have been the end of my career as a kerbalnaut.”

“Yet here you are,” commented Bob. “Why did you come here if you planned to quit?”

“As much as I loved space travel, I wanted a place to call ‘home,’” explained James. That’s what getting pushed back and forth among bases on Dres will do to you. When I found an opening for an ISRU specialist on Laythe, I took it.” He then turned to Rabal. “I… also applied for permanent residence on Laythe, since it at least has breathable air and friendly neighbors.”

“Then why are you on Vall?” asked Val.

“Guess,” sighed James.

“We… had an underperforming converter,” explained Rabal. “How well did you know Agaden Kerman?”

“Agaden Kerman?” repeated James. “She was my math teacher’s daughter.”

“Finally, someone who REALLY knew her,” said Bob. “Were you close?”

“Not really,” said James. “Well… I was closer to her dad than I was her. Not only was he my math teacher, he wrote a letter of recommendation for me to join KSP.”

“Did you think she was hot?” asked Bob.

“Dude,” said Val.

“What, unrequitted love can sometimes be a strong motive for murder,” explained Bob.

“I… hope you guys are discreet about this,” said James. “I’m… actually gay.”

“James, nobody cares,” sighed Bob.

“It does if you want to find whoever poisoned her,” James replied. “My boyfriend’s… a base guard on Laythe. As soon as I’m done up here, I’m going back there to rejoin him.”

“Base guard… Eli?” guessed Bob.

“How do you know?” asked James.

“He told me he was gay, but didn’t say with who,” explained Bob.

“Ask him, he’ll tell you I am NOT a killer,” said James.

“Nobody said anything about a killer,” pointed out Val.

“Then why would you ask me about a cadet who was poisoned on another planet?” asked James. “If it was an ACCIDENTAL poisoning, you wouldn’t care.”

“Good point,” commented Val. “We’ll be in touch.”

“Anything to catch Laplace Kerman’s daughter’s killer,” said James, and the three kerbalnauts left him.

“How did you get a base guard to tell you he was gay?” wondered Rabal.

“It slipped out while interrogating me about Sheri’s death,” said Bob.

“I heard that,” said James. “If you want privacy, either change channels or take it inside.” Once Bob, Rabal, and Val were back inside, they removed their EVA suits and took notes on what they remembered from their discussion with James into their kPads.

“Assuming they’re all telling the truth, the only person who looks capable of committing the crime is James,” commented Bob. “Penelope said that she only went to the base for a medical exam after the Zeus was destroyed, which makes sense given the fact that Matt and Scott are there too. Kafield went to Poseidon’s Palace from Victor’s base to look for girls around the time Sheri died, which was AFTER Moonjet 314 was hacked. James, however, had full access to the base at the time.”

“Keep in mind that all the other three went straight here from Dres,” said Val. “James went to two planets in between Dres and Jool; remember how you and Sheri went to Duna after Dres, but before Laythe.”

“He didn’t have to be there for the 79 virus to work; he just needed Danlong to do his dirty work for him,” reminded Bob. “You remember what Kafield said about Danlong barging in to the jet before it took off.”

“Yeah, but… why wouldn’t you stay and watch the fireworks?” said Val.

“To throw people off in case they know it was sabotaged,” suggested Bob. “Being in-transit to Eve while your accomplice cries bad pilot… perfect cover.”

“But Agaden was his math teacher’s daughter. Why would he want to hurt her?”

“Everybody gets mad at their math teacher for something,” said Bob.

“Even you?” asked Val.

“Yes, and don’t tell me you didn’t,” replied Bob. “In some cases, they’ll hurt the teachers’ kids to get back at their targets.”

“Even if that teacher wrote them a letter of recommendation?”

“Some people just won’t let go of grudges,” said Bob, hanging his head. “For instance, I’m still mad at Flash Kerman for replacing my dissolved chloride salts with explosives.”

“You told us that story a million times,” sighed Val. “You tried to make a firey rainbow for the science and art convention, KA-BOOM!”

“After getting out of the hospital, I was ARRESTED for unlawful possession and handling of explosives,” explained Bob. “The only reason I don’t have a criminal record is because some kid filmed Flash making the switch. Did HE get any jail time, NO! Makes me wish I used blister agents on him when I had the chance.”

“How do you hire agents to give him blisters?” wondered Rabal.

“It’s a type of chemical weapon,” clarified Bob. “They are lethal, EXTREMELY dangerous, and illegal. Some formulas are also classified as weapons of mass destruction.”

“I get that feeling,” said Val. “Bill and I almost built an Iron Kerbal suit to blow up the corrupt businessmen who KNEW his mom was getting irradiated but did nothing about it.”

“Better idea than using the blutonium in Bill’s RTG to resurrect his mom,” commented Bob, “AND for turning Bill into the Hunk. Like THAT’S scientifically accurate.”

“Worst ideas ever,” commented Rabal. “The blutonium ideas, I mean… but the Iron Kerbal suit just to murder people is also a bad idea.”

“You see my point?” asked Bob.

“Yes, I get it,” said Val. “Even if James wanted to hurt Laplace, why take it out on the girl?”

“Maybe it’s THE GIRL he’s mad at and NOT the teacher,” suggested Rabal.

“Why would he want to kill HER?” countered Val. “She’s on another planet and taking a different track than he did. Chances are that they might have never seen each other again.”

“Interplanetary travel sometimes does things to your mind,” said Rabal. “Several of my cremembers have gone insane after a while here.”

“Yes, see, like THAT,” agreed Bob. “Even if he buried the hatchet years ago, he must have dug it up in a rage and decided to finally settle a score amid the chaos in his mind.”

“We’ll have to check everyone’s alibis,” said Val. “Thank you, Cap…,” she was then interrupted by a man running through the airlock as his EVA suit disassembled. “What is it Duvey?”

“Admiral Val,” he panted, “there’s… been a sh… a shoot…”

“Deep breath and spit it out,” demanded Val, and Duvey obeyed.

“There’s been another shooting at Poseidon’s Palace,” he reported. “Last I heard, 17 dead and 33 wounded… including Victor.”

“VICTOR?” gasped Val. “We’d better get down there. Thank you, Captain.”

“Anytime, Admiral,” said Rabal as Val, Bob, and Duvey got in their suits and headed for their SSTO.

“Status report,” said Val after they entered the jet.

“I heard a soldier went to the outdoor Team-Up Day gathering and opened fire with a machine gun,” said Duvey. “It was at Poseidon’s Palace.”

“If it was at Poseidon’s Palace, what was Victor doing outside of his base?” asked Val.

“I dunno, why did that guy shoot up the Palace?” replied Duvey.

“Get us down to Laythe,” ordered Val.

“But aren’t YOU the pilot?” asked Duvey.

“You can do it, engineer,” assured Val. “If you’re not, just use MechJeb.”

“Okay,” stammered Duvey as he asked MJ to get him to an altitude of 15 kilometers. “Yes, I did it.”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it,” said Val. “How long until we get to Laythe?”

“The next window opens in two days and it’s another one day and five hours to get there,” answered MJ.

“Great,” sighed Val. “Well, gentlemen… I’m going to space and I’m bringing… an antenna. Bob, your turn.”

“I’m going to space and I’m bringing an antenna and… a barometer.”

“I’m going to space and I’m taking an antenna, a barometer, and a… come on… a Clamp-O-Tron.” As they waited for their transfer window, they continued with their games and chatter.

 

After the three of them landed near Poseidon’s Palace, they were carefully inspected by base security and examined by a doctor before boarding a mini-bus back to the base. When Bob saw that the driver was nobody he knew, he asked why Guscan wasn’t there; apparently, Guscan had been wounded during the shooting. When they arrived at the base, Duvey headed to his quarters while Bob and Val looked for Eli.

“Just who were you emailing during the flight?” Bob asked Val.

“None of your business,” said Val.

“It’s okay if it’s the prime minister,” said Bob. “Remember, all four of us had dinner with him after the Mun mission.”

“I’ll tell you it’s NOT him,” answered Val, “current OR former.”

“Eh… okay,” remarked Bob, then they found Eli.

“Where’s Vic?” Val demanded.

“Sick bay, with the rest of the wounded,” said Eli.

“Where’s the shooter?” asked Bob.

“Dead,” said Eli. “The guards shot him; he didn’t even try to run. Even when we told him to surrender, he kept on firing.”

“Hang on,” interrupted Bob. “Was… he tested for volitium?”

“Why do you think that?” asked Val.

“Tami did more or less the same thing, only SHE was drugged,” explained Bob. “The guy who shot up the tower fled, which meant that he planned this on his own.”

“Tami had a handgun while Reid had an ASSAULT RIFLE,” Eli pointed out. “Dr. Melinda had to delay the autopsy to tend to the wounded, but she tested his blood. He was CLEAN.”

“Bill said that our bases were more likely to get attacked by rival Laythan tribes than other kerbals,” commented Val. “Can I see Victor?”

“You’ll have to get permission from Dr. Melinda first,” said Eli, then he escorted Val and Bob to sick bay. “Hey, Doc. The admiral wants to see Victor Kerman.”

“Yes, Eli,” said Dr. Melinda, and she led them to Victor’s bed.

“What are you doing here?” asked Val. “I thought you were confined to your base.”

“I HAD to come here,” explained Victor. “They were briefing the heads of Laythe operations on catching your tower bomber.”

“He’s right,” confirmed Eli. “All military and civilian command personnel were summoned here to discuss how to apprehend the guy who shot up the airfield.”

“Well, did you catch him?” questioned Bob.

“No. Base security said that it’s just a matter of IDENTIFYING him now,” sighed Victor. “For all we know, it could be someone in this VERY ROOM.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” said Bob. “Why swim all the way back to the base you tried to run away from after getting shot down?”

“Yeah, and YOUR base has SSTOs ready,” added Val. “Why not go THERE?”

“Uh, because my base is LOADED with big men carrying big guns,” replied Victor. “Anyone tries to steal a spaceplane, it’s scrap metal in seconds.”

“Speaking of stealing planes,” said Eli, “did you notice anything strange about Reid Kerman before the shooting?”

“You’ll have to speak with my lieutenant,” said Victor. “I was here when he was reported AWOL.”

“When was he reported AWOL?” questioned Eli.

“About… two Laythe days before the shooting,” answered Victor. “An hour before I got shot, I was notified that one of the hypersonic fighters had gone missing.”

“We know, it’s parked at the landing strip,” said Eli. “We cross-referenced the ID tag with the stolen vehicle report.”

“Can you think of any reason why Reid would fly here and cause mayhem?” asked Bob.

“I heard he had PTSD from his previous deployment against the Krakenites on Kerbin,” said Victor. “However, if anything, he was more likely to shoot up HIS OWN base and not do it ALL THE WAY HERE.”

“What makes you say THAT?” wondered Val.

“He lost his family in a Krakenite attack on his hometown,” explained Victor. “I heard rumors that he had nightmares where he was the last man standing in a burning town being overrun by those terrorists.”

“It actually makes perfect sense,” commented Bob. “His family and town are gone, so he flies to the enemy base to exact revenge.”

“No, it doesn’t,” said Victor. “There are five charted Laythan settlements close to my base, so he was more likely to attack THEM.”

“Did you see him target anyone in particular,” asked Bob, “or was it some random rampage?”

“Yes, and no,” answered Victor. “I saw him approach this bald guy before shooting him five times, then he started shooting indiscriminately.”

“Bald guy… Scott,” Bob figured out.

“Yes,” said Eli. “Scott Kerman’s dead.”

“Wait a minute,” said Val, “why would he target SCOTT? Why not just use a sniper rifle from far away?”

“And you didn’t shoot back?” spat Bob.

“How could I? The MPs confiscated my gun after Val got arrested for murder,” explained Victor. “The guards even took my ankle pistol when I was summoned here.”

“That sucks,” commented Bob.

“You know what else sucks?” Victor responded. “You getting chastised for only doing your job.”

“Committing murder?” said Bob.

“Hey, they were savage hostiles with blood on all their hands,” said Victor. “Anyone who dares favor the sacrifice of their own kind for another kind’s mere existence is a TRAITOR TO NATURE, just like those whiners and the guy who keeps giving you trouble.”

“Ugh,” they heard a woman groan. “B… Bob?”

“It’s Bob lady again,” sighed Victor. “She wouldn’t stop moaning about you, now talk to her before she worsens my bullet wound.” Bob moved to the other side of the curtain and saw Irpond lying on another bed.

“You okay?” asked Bob.

“I am, now that you’re here,” replied Irpond.

“I meant your injuries,” clarified Bob.

“I’m fine, I was just shot in the side,” said Irpond. “Nothing serious.”

“That’s good to hear,” said Bob. “Why did Reid target Scott?”

“Scott?” gasped Irpond. “I… don’t know.”

“That’s odd,” said Bob, scratching his chin. “A soldier with PTSD who just snapped seemed to put in a lot of time and effort just to start with Scott.”

“Actually, we have evidence that he killed several others at the landing strip before opening fire at the base,” corrected Eli. “The alarms didn’t go off since they were silent killings.”

“Strange, seems like a stretch to go from silent assassin to loud rampager that quickly,” said Bob. “And why start with Scott?”

“THAT is strange,” agreed Eli. “Even stranger than him turning up negative for drugs.”

“Why would Reid… do such a thing?” sobbed Irpond.

“The real question is why would Reid do such a thing in such a manner?” said Bob. “Even if Scott did something horrible to Reid, why kill the civilians too? He should have known that he was never gonna walk out of there alive. I mean, if that were me, I’d have just used a sniper rifle and beat it.”

“Also, wouldn’t a fighter cause more destruction than an automatic rifle?” added Eli. “He could just destroy the ENTIRE BASE and bail before sufficient reinforcements arrived.”

“At the same time I’m willing to say ‘planned hit,’ all the evidence points toward random crazyhead,” remarked Bob. “If all he wanted was to cause as much bloodshed as possible, why did he wait until he was near Scott?”

“I’ve investigated mass shootings before leaving Kerbin, but THIS makes NO sense,” said Eli, and Bob looked at him. “I used to be a cop before I heard of a job opening on Laythe.”

“I thought you needed to be… smarter and/or a licensed high-grade pilot to go interplanetary,” said Bob.

“Yes, but they needed extra security for the bases,” explained Eli. “I was glad to enlist.”

“Uh… can we talk outside the room?” asked Val, and she, Eli, and Bob left sick bay.

“We located your boyfriend, James,” said Bob. “He was on Dres before getting assigned to Jool, but he was on Eve and Kerbin in between then.”

“That’s right,” said Eli. “Why are you bringing this up?”

“He had ample opportunity to hack Gus and Linus’ emails and hacked Moonjet 314,” explained Val. “Not only was he on-base at the time the false emails were sent, he knew Agaden personally.”

“How so?” asked Eli.

“She was his math teacher’s daughter,” said Bob.

“Laplace Kerman?” gasped Eli. “No, you got it all wrong. James spoke HIGHLY of him; he was James’ hero.”

“What about Agaden?” wondered Bob.

“He mentioned her a few times before she died,” said Eli. “One time, she had a crush on him while he was at school.”

“She was crushing on HIM?” inquired Val.

“Yes, but… he was gay then,” said Eli. “At the time… it was a big deal regardless of what side you were on. Still is here, in fact.”

“I thought the crewmembers didn’t really care,” commented Bob.

“Try the tourists and the military installation,” said Eli. “I thought you said you were interviewing other people on Vall.”

“Yes, but they have alibis,” explained Val. “Penelope never set foot on base until AFTER the Zeus was destroyed, and that was for a medical exam before she could resume duty. While Kafield took leave on Laythe around the time the phone emails were sent, he was at the military installation; he went to Poseidon’s Palace after Sheri died just for a chance to pick up some women.”

“To sum up, they didn’t have the chance,” said Bob. “James, however, had ample opportunity – not to mention he was the only one we talked to who knew Agaden BESIDES from the news.”

“Opportunity, but not the means or motive,” Eli contradicted. “He’s good with fixing ore converters, but terrible at programming them – let alone vehicles. Trust me, he tried to reprogram a mini-bus to go faster; we had to get him out with a laser cutter before fixing the software. As for motive… I’m the closest guy he has, and I can’t really paint him as a killer. Sleep-deprived occasional hothead, tops.”

“He does have a point,” said Val. “I mean, current base personnel had PLENTY of opportunity… and maybe even… TOURISTS.”

“I checked all the tourist files; NONE of them have ever been to Dres,” countered Eli.

“Maybe another space agency sent them there,” suggested Bob.

“Even so, all interplanetary travelers are required to have a complete record of where they were at what times and what they did – REGARDLESS of WHO sent them into space,” reminded Val.

“Exactly,” agreed Eli. “We haven’t completed all the interviews yet, but so far none of them look good for hacking Moonjet 314. Some of them we’ll NEVER get to since they died in the shooting.”

“Like I said earlier, very odd indeed,” said Bob. “Why start with Scott?”

“And why did he need an automatic rifle for the job?” added Val. “Wouldn’t a handgun be easier to hide?”

“Maybe it was a planned hit that was supposed to LOOK LIKE a random rampage, but the gunman went rogue,” thought Eli. “Again, chances are… we may never know.”

“I hope the military has better luck on ITS end,” said Val. “Why steal an armed fighter and an assault rifle and fly all the way to Poseidon’s Palace to land here and mow down the Team-Up Day gathering. Makes more sense to just use ordinance now that the tower’s out of commission.”

“Hey, you know any other bald guys here?” asked Bob.

“Oh, you think that Reid was going for SOMEONE ELSE but picked Scott by mistake,” said Eli, and Bob nodded. “As far as I know, the only bald guys on this rock are at the military base.”

“Okay, so Scott was the intended target,” said Bob. “The question is why.”

“He definitely wasn’t just a hired gun,” said Val, “since hitmen are typically SMARTER than that… and so are regular soldiers.”

“Actually, Admiral, he was Special Forces,” corrected Eli, “but you’re right. He’s too smart for that.”

“Besides psychotic breakdown, I got nothing,” said Bob. “What about you, Val?”

“Maybe if you look into Reid’s personal life, you may find something tying him to Scott,” suggested Val.

“You might wanna full molecular scan of Reid’s blood in case you missed anything,” added Bob, and Eli thanked the two of them.

“You think they missed something?” asked Val.

“Maybe,” said Bob. “I’m just not convinced that some Special Forces under a psychotic breakdown would take the time to fly all the way here and kill Scott before moving on to other civilians… and his commanding officer.”

“Maybe he had no plans to get taken alive,” replied Val.

“Then why start with Scott… and kill innocent bystanders too?” sighed Bob. “It makes no sense.”

“I’ll be in my quarters now,” said Val. “What are you gonna do?”

“Plants again,” said Bob, then Val walked to her bunk and activated her kPad.

	How was your day, Bill?
Weird.
	Mine too.
How so?
	One of Vic’s men shot up Poseidon’s Palace. The weird thing is he started with Scott Kerman after a mini-bus ride from the landing strip. -       He also took a fighter to the base. Why didn’t he just blow it up and run?
If you think that’s weird, my rocket COULD NOT have caused Misty’s house fire. -       Even the craters found on her walls weren’t caused by my debris.
Also, one of the students accused Misty Kerman of killing Sally.
	Did s/he see her?
No.
	If she was in the building at the time, I wouldn’t be surprised if she did it.
The weird thing is that there was a close cluster of craters on the walls even though I should have landed KILOMETERS away from the target.
	She probably took a sledgehammer to the walls and smashed some holes.
Why would she do that? More importantly, HOW? That would require prior knowledge about the incoming debris. -       Also, why didn’t she just SAY that she saw meteors (in my case, debris) falling out of the sky?
Are you just prejudiced?
	Not as prejudiced as my parents (or my brother towards Laythans), but yes. Why WOULDN’T I be if I was set up by her and her computer-geek daughter?
Misty could have ACTUALLY been kidnapped and the perp impersonated you. -       And why are your parents prejudiced towards Misty?
	I was 10 when Misty was on trial for murder. Even after her acquittal, Mom and Dad hated her guts – despite the fact that we’re in two separate towns.
I think I was in a coma at the time of the trial, but I remember my parents telling me to stay away from Misty’s house whenever we visited Woomerang.
When Mom died, our anger was directed towards the Nuclear Battery and away from Misty – yet he knew safety negligence did not warrant murder.
	If Jeb were here, he’d accuse Misty of killing your mom via radiation poisoning.
Impossible. The cancer took years to kill Mom, and we’re in different towns. Besides, the schematics for the safety measures show serious inadequacies.
	Whatcha doing now?
Right now, refueling a Mk. Vb travel pod for the trip to Dres. You?
Fun fact: one of the graduating cadets is going with us.
	Awesome. We’re looking at possible suspects for the moonjet hackings – but found no really good ones.
Hope they catch him.
	Victor said that we may die from Laythan hands if we stayed here. I didn’t think we’d die from KERBAL hands.
Seems like it.
	Why did you write to me after so long?
Same reason I told Roger to check Mission Control’s archives.
	Spit it out.
I think I’d rather wait until we see each other face-to-face.
	That’s in ten years. Tell me now.
Fine.
I’ve had a crush on you since high school.
	Really?
	Took you THAT long to admit it?
I was scared, okay. There, I said it.
	What was there to be scared about?
I already lost my mom. Considering the long-term consequences, I didn’t want to lose you.
	Bill, nobody thinks that far ahead when asking each other out.
I do.
You’re also no stranger to thinking things through in the long-term.
	What was the worst that could have happened?
1)    You reject me and get yourself hurt dating some jock (like Jeb’s football friends) 2)    You accept, but I fail to meet your standards à you know how girls have standards for their mates à and it eventually results in outcome 1. 3)    You accept, and we date for a while, but we break up with no chance of reparation.
4)    We eventually get married and start our own family, but one or both of us dies prematurely. If we have kids, it wouldn’t work out too well. 5)    Our marriage ends in divorce, when we realize too late that we weren’t meant to be.
	I get it.
	If you were so scared, why did you even write that love email to me?
It’s about time I got it off my chest.
I just found the news of the Laythe shooting on the news. At this rate, you’ll die before you and Bob can leave.
	Since you put it that way, I need to tell you something while I’m still alive.
	I’ve liked you since high school.
	And if you didn’t see that, then you’re a dumber engineer than Mission Control thinks you are.
When I lost Mom, I lost her insight.
	Didn’t you dad tell you to just get out there and not be afraid.
The guys who did that were the jerks. I didn’t want to turn out like them.
	Says the guy who wanted to blow up his mother’s employers.
Because they practically murdered Mom.
	Enough of the past.
	Now that our confessions are out of the way, what do you want to do about it?
I’d say dinner and a movie, but that’s ten years from now – in Dres.
We could send love emails to each other before then.
	Seems like our only option.
If you had a crush on me, why didn’t you tell me?
	I wanted you to make a move on me.
That’s odd. I was expecting the same thing from you.
	It’s traditional for the male to make the first move – you know that’s how it’s done in Baikerbanur.
It was NOT tradition for the female to be a sensible badass like YOU are. I thought you had the guts to ask me out.
	You think I was going to date a guy who didn’t even have the nerve to ask ME out?
Knowing you, I wouldn’t be surprised if you started it. Were you just testing me?
	Darn right, and you’re 20 years overdue.
You just gave up? Didn’t you have some fail-safe measure in case that didn’t work?
	Didn’t you have yours?

 

Val sighed in disappointment. Her crush had admitted to having feelings for her, only he delayed confessing his own love to her for decades. Though she had wished he asked her out when he had the chance, she had to admit he was right. Val certainly had the courage to ask him out on a date, but she didn’t even when Bill never made a move. She then realized why her brother called her a coward after she came back from prom crying.

“That was the opportunity of a lifetime and you just BLOW IT!” he had told her. “He was in your grasp, and you LET HIM GO… and NOW you want him back. You don’t just wait for him to notice you; you GET OUT THERE!” At the time, she thought it was just more unwarranted sibling rivalry. Now, she understood what he meant.

“I had you,” she sobbed on her uniform. “I had you… I’m not going to let you go THIS time.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

To my readers, how are you all liking this so far? Feel free to post questions/comments/concerns/criticisms on this thread (please be civil about it).

• Who do you think the killer/s is/are?
  • Why?
• Why do you think Sally Kerman was shot - and by who?
• Why did Reid start with Scott Kerman before causing a massacre on the base?
• Does Bill have a chance with Val?

[roboslacker]

I used to think that Irpond was the mastermind, but then she got shot. Though... she still could've done it. For me, the biggest gap is the motive for the munjet killings.

At this point, I think that the Sheri murder and the munjet killings are not connected.

I think that Scott Kerman was killed to silence him. My current theory is that Scott Kerman was convinced by the perpetrator to help frame Val, which means that he would have been able to identify the perpetrator.

Edited February 28, 2019 by roboslacker

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: ESCAPE BURN

 

Several months had passed and still no luck on finding any suspects for Agaden’s death. Victor, and several of his subordinates, were arrested and imprisoned in Poseidon’s Palace’s brig for war crimes while their trial progressed. Most of the base personnel and tourists wanted him sentenced to death, but Val thought he only deserved prison time. After all, he not only was following orders, but it was Mission Control’s idea to cover up the massacre. Irpond tried to convince Bob to replace the knockout gas in the brig holding cells with nerve gas, but Bob refused since, like Val, he believed in the rights of the accused.

“Says the guy who wanted to stuff Val in a booster engine,” she had told him.

“AFTER being found guilty without a reasonable doubt,” said Bob.

Victor’s trial was still progressing by the time the transfer window to Dres opened. Luckily, Val had testified as a character witness before being cleared to leave the Jool system. Most of her crew would fly into Jool orbit with her from Laythe, where the rest of the crew would be waiting in a Mark Vb interplanetary travel pod.

“Okay, let’s see who’s here,” started Val. “Sound off.”

“Bob.”

“Guscan.”

“Irpond.”

“Matt.”

“Ralo.”

“Samuel.”

“WO, WEE! WEE!”

“All here,” said Val turning to her Laythe plane pilot. “We’re good to go.”

“Good luck,” replied the pilot as he shut the airlock.

“Give me a full go/no-go for launch,” demanded Val. “Software.”

“Go,” reported Irpond.

“Life support.”

“Go,” answered Bob.

“Thrusters.”

“Go,” said Guscan.

“Controls.”

“Go,” replied Matt.

“Medical supplies.”

“Go,” said Ralo, the medic.

“Power.”

“Go.”

“Comms.”

“Go.”

“RCS.”

“Go.”

“Rec systems.”

“Go.”

“Wally.”

“He’s a go,” acknowledged Bob.

“MJ.”

“Go,” replied MJ.

“Poseidon’s Palace, all systems go,” said Val.

“Copy that,” a man replied on the radio. “You are clear to make your escape burn in t-minus 5 minutes 13 seconds and counting.”

“Plotting escape burn to Dres,” said MJ.

“Roger that,” said Val. “Strap yourselves in, everyone.”

“Yes, Admiral,” said Sam and the crew obeyed.

“Can’t believe I’m going back to Dres,” said Bob. “Feels like only yesterday that I first met Sheri.”

“Bob, are you really not yet over her?” sighed Irpond.

“Well… I’ll be over her as soon as they catch the creature that killed her,” said Bob, and the rest of the crew joined in the conversation.

“T-minus five, four, three, two, one, zero,” MJ said minutes later, and the crew was thrown to the back of their seats as the pod made its escape burn out of Jool. “Escape burn to Dres complete,” it said several minutes later.

“Confirmed,” said Guscan, checking the navicomputer. “If you feel like calling someone to say good-bye, now’s the time.”

“Power levels and communication strength optimal,” added Matt. “We’re all set for Dres.”

“ETA to Dres capture in… 6 years, 155 days,” said Guscan.

“Better get comfortable,” said Val. “Ralo, I want chloroplast checks every 25 days and full medical exams every 75.”

“Yes, mam,” acknowledged Ralo, setting alarms.

“Engage SAS.”

“Done.” After several more system checks, the crew was all set.

 

Hours later, Bob was fast asleep in his sleeping bag. He was dreaming about going on a beach date with Sheri on Kerbin’s shores. After he proposed to her on Eve, they would return to Kerbin to get married and retire as kerbalnauts.

“How are we doing?” asked Bob, looking at Sheri wearing a one-piece.

“Well… the doctor says she’s healthy at this point,” said Sheri, rubbing her stomach.

“Are you sure it’s a she?” inquired Bob.

“Of course it’s a she,” chuckled Sheri. “She’s got her mother’s fighting spirit.”

“I’m gonna bet it’s a boy,” said Bob. “Statistics have proven that childbirth patterns are more likely to follow the DAD’S side of the family.”

“Silly, then we’d have no women,” replied Sheri.

“True,” said Bob, looking at some dolphins. “I wonder how many of THOSE we killed with space debris.”

“None directly,” said another woman. Bob turned around and was surprised to see Sally in Sheri’s bathing suit. “We just killed their food.”

“Where’s Sheri?” asked Bob.

“Dead,” answered Sally, and Bob started to clench his fist.

“You KILLED her?!”

“How could I have killed her; I was on Kerbin,” said Sally. “You need to…”

BLAM!

Before Bob’s very eyes, her forehead exploded in a pool of blood and she fell on the sand. Behind her was a figure – which looked female from the silhouette – standing behind her with a handgun raised.

“Surprise!” said the woman. “It’s ME!” She took aim at Bob and fired.

“GET DOWN!” An old man then tackled Bob and shot his own gun at her, but the woman poofed away as soon as the bullet hit.

“Werner?” gasped Bob after recognizing him.

“In your dreams,” said the man, “which, in this case... is true.”

“What are you doing here?” asked Bob. “Why did Sally show up, and who was the gunman?”

“I’m here to open your eyes… figuratively speaking,” answered Werner. “Let me give you a hint why: it has something to do with Sally’s murder.”

“She was shot at the space center, but they haven’t caught her yet,” said Bob.

“But you know who it is, and you know why,” said Werner, then Bob found himself in a laboratory wearing a lab coat. On the whiteboard was a diagram of a suborbital spaceflight.

“You think Misty Kerman did this?” gasped Bob, and Werner nodded. “But… how?”

“Think, Bob. Had it not been for atmospheric drag, Bill would have hit the target.” Werner then drew blue lines coming from the suborbital trajectory to the surface – to the left of the target. “His trajectory 22 years ago would have put him several kilometers away.”

“Maybe… one of the chunks got lucky,” said Bob, then Werner drew another diagram.

“There were craters on her wall that were CLOSE TOGETHER, yet the precision of the debris was TOO LOW to have caused it,” reminded Werner. “If anything hit the house, it should have been isolated.”

“You think it was… ARSON?” gasped Bob.

“You got it.”

“How? I read the file front-to-back; no traces of accelerant were found at the scene.”

“Did you also read the part about the faulty furnace?” reminded Werner.

“So, what? Furnaces malfunction all the time,” argued Bob.

“You remember what Misty was put on trial for,” said Werner, and then he and Bob were in an empty courtroom.

“Killing someone,” said Bob.

“More specifically, sabotaging a rover to cause someone’s death,” added Werner. “You think she would have been put on trial if she didn’t have the means, motive, and opportunity?”

“But… she was acquitted.”

“She’s a master at covering her tracks, Bob,” warned Werner.

“Back up, are you saying she sabotaged HER OWN furnace and hammered some holes in the wall to make it look like a space debris hit?”

“You got it,” confirmed Werner.

“But… why?” gasped Bob. “It makes… no sense. To even have a reason to hit the walls would require prior knowledge about the incoming debris. More importantly, why would she set fire to her own house… and not report something falling out of the sky?”

“Because she knows the walls are NOT combustible,” said Werner. “As for her motive, you’ll have to talk to her daughter about it.” Before Bob knew it, he was in the Hall of Fallen Heroes near the astronaut complex.

“Are you the Ghost of Spaceflights Past, or did Yet to Come steal your time card?”

“Very funny, Bob,” said Werner, showing him one of the names.

SHERI KERMAN

“Why are you showing me this?”

“You still haven’t moved on from her death,” explained Werner.

“I’ll move on when I catch her killer,” said Bob, then he noticed he and Werner were starting to sweat. “Why is there a sudden increase in temperature?”

“Search your mind, you KNOW who it is.” Bob slowly woke up and found Irpond floating near his sleeping bag.

“I… Irpond?” he gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, just… checking to make sure you were all right,” said Irpond.

“Why aren’t you in your sleeping bag?” whispered Bob.

“I saw you were having a nightmare,” said Irpond.

“You can say that,” sighed Bob, and Irpond unzipped his bag.

“Wanna get some more privacy?” asked Irpond, then the two of them floated to the medical supply closet and shut the door behind them. “What happened?”

“Well… I seemed to have been visited by Werner Von Kerman,” started Bob. “He led me to believe that… your mom SHOT Sally Kerman.”

“That’s ridiculous,” said Irpond. “My mom wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“I didn’t believe it either until I thought about the evidence again,” continued Bob. “Your mom wouldn’t have even been on trial 29 years ago if she didn’t have the know-how to sabotage that car.”

“Why would you accuse my mom of murder?”

“Think about it, Irpond,” said Bob. “Bill’s rocket wasn’t even close to landing there.”

“But… the craters,” stammered Irpond. “I saw them on the walls.”

“And how did you think they got there? It couldn’t have been rocket debris since the pieces were scattered KILOMETERS apart… and the walls weren’t combustible if any of them hit.”

“But… how?” gasped Irpond. “What does that have to do with Sally?”

“It’s a long shot, but… your mom may have committed arson and shot Sally to cover it up,” suggested Bob. “Sally knew Misty from the folktales; since they’re both women, you’d expect her to say, ‘It’s just you’ if they saw each other in the locker room.”

“How did you know what Sally said?” gasped Irpond in shock.

“One of her students heard the shot,” answered Bob. “Hopefully, I’m wrong and SOMEBODY else committed arson and murder.”

“You’re WRONG!” objected Irpond, almost scaring Bob.

“Then again… why tamper with the furnace when accelerant will do the job just fine?” said Bob. “And why plant craters on the walls?”

“It… must be a really crafty criminal,” said Irpond. “Maybe Debra’s REAL killer planned to finish off Mom when he happened to see Bill’s debris falling out of the sky. After sabotaging the furnace, he smashed some holes in the walls to make it look like an orbital strike.”

“That… makes sense,” agreed Bob. “However, Bill launched when he KNEW the house would be empty.”

“Wait, how did he know it was empty?”

“He said he planned the launch time from the usual work and school times at Woomerang,” said Bob. “He wanted to arrive at the target while the house was empty.”

“So… if a Badger knew when she’d be out… either it was a poorly planned hit or it didn’t intend to kill anyone,” concluded Irpond.

“It could have been just some random angry Joe who wanted to spite Misty and set her house alight,” said Bob, “regardless of who was in it. Once she saw the incoming debris, she took a sledgehammer and smashed some holes to cover her tracks.”

“How do you know it was a ‘she’ who started the fire?” wondered Irpond.

“I remember more WOMEN talking about Misty than MEN did,” answered Bob. “One time I snuck into the restricted section of my school lab, and I saw the female teachers bad-mouthing your mom; the males didn’t really care. It was also MY MOM who warned me about her.”

“She must have never taught you not to judge a book by her cover,” guessed Irpond.

“Actually, she did,” said Bob.

“Everyone will take ONE look at my mother and cry murderer,” Irpond told him, “despite the facts to the contrary. I… can’t believe that you would cry arsonist too.”

“Think, Irpond. Sally’s plane to Baikerbanur was sabotaged to send her crashing to her death, only she wasn’t on it. Then, someone followed Sally to the space center and waltzed into the ladies’ room and shot her – someone SHE KNEW. Why would anyone go through all that trouble… and why kill her THEN?”

“You’re the scientist, you answer.”

“Actually scientists… pretty much ask questions,” sighed Bob. “What other logical explanations do you have?”

“It could have been someone IN THE STAFF,” suggested Irpond. “Remember: she had to have a meeting before she could perform this experiment.”

“That… makes… sense,” Bob conceded. “A woman 45 or older with computer AND mechanical expertise could have sabotaged Sally’s plane after catching her flight number, then went to Krakopolis after learning she survived to finish the job.”

“What makes you think she’s that old?”

“Uh, if a man entered the women’s locker room, there would have been guards everywhere before he left,” said Bob. “As for age, that’s old enough to commit an elaborate arson 22 years ago.”

“Did anyone tell you that you’re cute when you run mental if-then-else loops?” smiled Irpond.

“I wouldn’t know an if-then-what loop if it bit my arm off,” joked Bob, and Irpond laughed.

“I thought you worked with computers all the time,” said Irpond, “like that robot.”

“All I do is input data and record the analysis; it’s the software guys who program the math SCIENTISTS tell them.”

“Hey, I can code as well as any guy,” said Irpond. “If I tried… I can even get Wally to talk.”

“Really, you can?” asked Bob.

“Yes. I just need to clone his hard drive and program his voice box to speak words… just like MJ does,” said Irpond.

“You’ll have to take it up with Bill,” sighed Bob. “I didn’t program him, HE did… and that thing’s pretty old for a robot. About 20 years old, in fact.”

“Man, I don’t think any of our surface probes have lasted longer than five years after deployment,” commented Irpond. “ORBITAL RELAYS, on the other hand, last longer.”

“For a Badger, Bill was ahead of his time,” said Bob. “Hey, he said that he and Val have been emailing each other for the past few months.”

“You want to fix them up?” guessed Irpond.

“Yeah,” said Bob.

“Sounds great. I can help Val while you talk to Bill,” suggested Irpond. “You have experience with dating, after all.”

“Perfe… wait, what about you?”

“I used to date this guy from school… before we broke up,” said Irpond. “That was the last I heard of him.”

“Neat,” said Bob, “but let’s wait until wake-up. I gotta get some sleep now.”

“Oh, but you’re already up,” said Irpond, grabbing Bob before he hit the shelves.

“Somebody else used to say that to me,” sighed Bob. “It was… Sheri, whenever we were in-transit or we woke up early on-base.”

“It’s been about a year already. Why have you not gotten over her yet?”

“Because I was going to marry her,” answered Bob. “If I can’t have her, I’ll be just as satisfied with the lower life form responsible.”

“Ooh, you’re gonna date her killer?” asked Irpond.

“What? No,” said Bob. “I’m gonna pick his method of execution.”

“I guess we’ll never know,” said Irpond. “So many killings have happened on Laythe, so… the one you’re looking for is probably dead already.”

“Then I’ll pay Wenpont to spit on their grave when they find her.”

“Many cases go unsolved, like Debra Kerman. They haven’t caught the real killer after 29 years,” reminded Irpond, holding Bob’s hand. “It’s time to move on, Bob. And in time, who knows… they’ll find whoever killed her.”

“That’s what my parents said,” said Bob. “You’re right, I’m still overdue for some healing.”

“I can help you catch up,” said Irpond. “You mind if I… bunk next to you?”

“Go ahead, but NOT in the same rack as me. You’ll float off and hit your head.”

“I meant in my OWN bag, silly,” laughed Irpond, then they left the closet and floated to their sleeping bags. “See you in the morning… cutie.”

 

“Yo-yo-yo-yo, Biiiiilllll!” shouted Jeb as he spun himself in Hades Station.

“Jeb, how did you achieve that angular velocity?” sighed Bill after arriving.

“IIIIII uuuusssseeed thuuuuuuu raaaaaiiiilllllsssss,” said Jeb, still spinning.

“This may sting a bit,” said Bill, pushing Jeb toward the wall.

“Wheeeeeeeeeee!” Jeb’s angular velocity was disrupted after hitting one of the station’s joints, then he grabbed one of the railings. “Man… I feel sick.”

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you spin uncontrollably in microgravity,” reminded Bill. “I needed to enforce Newton’s First Law of Motion to keep you from a perpetual state of motion.”

“What are you talking about? I spin lots of times in EVA suits and I turn out fine.”

“Because the jetpacks apply a force intended to disrupt an object ALREADY in angular motion,” reminded Bill. “If we left you alone, chances are you would have been stuck like that forever. What are you doing up here anyway?”

“I’m glad you asked,” said Jeb. “Since we’re going to be stuck here for at least another year, I might as well enjoy ourselves before we blast off.”

“I see your point, but I doubt you flew all the way here just to break the world record for longest time spinning in microgravity at four pi radians per second,” sighed Bill, leaving Jeb confused.

“I literally have no idea what you said, but I didn’t come here just to spin. Since the station has a stronger signal and a higher power capacity than the surface base, I figured that I could come here and download this new game I found.”

“Uh huh, what new game?”

“It’s called Psycho Simulator,” said Jeb. “I read it’s like Hitguy, only you do it for more than money.”

“Why would you download that?” asked Bill. “Hitguy is basically a game where you murder people for cash.”

“So is Skies on Fire, but I don’t see you complaining about it,” countered Jeb. “Besides, you can do more than just kill people. You get to do tasks, invent things, do awesome heists…,”

“Wait, did you say invent things?” asked Bill, and Jeb nodded. “You mean like Human Space Program?”

“Yes, like that,” agreed Jeb.

“Why would you get this game?” wondered Bill.

“Dude, so I can enter the mind of our killer,” answered Jeb. “To find him, you gotta THINK like him.”

“Well… so far Sherlock Kerman and Law of Order failed,” sighed Bill. “At this point, I’m willing to try anything. Where’s your kPad anyway?”

“I put it on the cupola seat,” said Jeb, and Bill facepalmed himself. “What? I lowered the restraining harness.”

“That’s not good enough.” He jumed to the front cupola and saw Jeb’s kPad floating in the cockpit. “You couldn’t have picked a LESS secure spot to keep it?”

“All the sleeping bags were full,” sighed Jeb as he caught it. “Oh, sweet, it’s done.”

“Let’s see if I have anything else planned for today… nope. I already checked the ISRU unit on the station so ore conversion operations can resume.”

“I got nothing else planned,” assured Jeb.

“Are you sure?” Jeb checked his assignment list and gave a thumbs-up. “Awesome, let’s see what it’s got.”

“For as long as I can remember, I was incapable of emotion,” a girl said as the game started. “Despite my efforts to conform to others’ social norms… I felt… empty inside.”

“You need some light,” teased Jeb.

“The doctors have tried everything to fix me, but it was no use. Honestly, I do not care. I have become… a kerbal computer, so to speak.”

“Dude, I saw gameplays of this and she’s not a robot,” remarked Jeb.

“That all changed when I met him. He was so handsome… the way he took off his helmet.”

“Helmet?” wondered Bill. “Is he a soldier?”

“No, he’s a pilot on the Mun,” said Jeb, then the screen displayed an image of a handsome man stepping out of an SSTO with Kerbin in the background. From the planet’s diameter relative to the viewer and the texture of the moon’s surface, Bill guessed that this game took place on the Mun.

“For the first time, I felt… whole, complete. It was then I realized I needed him. But… someone’s trying to steal him from me. The worst part is that she does not appreciate him the way I do. I must have him, for he is the reason… for my existence.”

“Wish the cheerleaders were like that for me,” commented Jeb.

“He is my primary objective; nobody else matters. I have the power of a computer brain, so I must use it or else I’m nothing.”

“Same here, Jeb,” said Bill. “The computer brain part, not the psycho.”

“Oh, goody. You get a career and sandbox mode,” said Jeb. “I’m gonna start with sandbox.”

“Okay,” agreed Bill, then they found the place called the “Weapons Lab” concealed underground in a Mun base. “Huh, I wonder what they got here.”

“Blutonium?” gasped Jeb, “Timer fuse, remote-control detonators… are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Hang on,” said Bill, who was on his own kPad. “You’re practically competing for the right to mate with this guy, but you want to NUKE the base? You’ll wipe out everyone in it.”

“Like the crazy lady said, nobody else matters,” reminded Jeb. “Besides, it’s MY sandbox. I can build all the kick-ass inventions I want.”

Bill shrugged his shoulders. “Knock yourself out, but remember your performance when building stuff in Human Space Program.”

“Building nukes ain’t rocket science, dude,” said Jeb.

“It’s a close second,” disagreed Bill, noticing Jeb’s bomb construction. “Enjoy your premature detonation.”

“Oh my gosh, is that a nuke?” gasped one of the game characters.

“He he he,” chuckled Jeb. “Tremble before the powah of…” His villainous speech was interrupted when his bomb detonated, engulfing the entire base in a mushroom cloud that disappeared in a second. “Aw, COME ON!”

“If not the blast, you would have died from radiation poisoning,” added Bill. “Here, let me try.” He reverted the mission to the Weapons Lab and built his own nuclear bomb. When he was done, he spawned in the middle of the base with his bomb and hid it in the supply closet before activating the timer. “I only have ten minutes to get out of here.”

“Why were you so picky about the blutonium?” asked Jeb. “What’s the difference between 238 and 239?”

“238 is used to power things, while 239 is for WEAPONS,” reminded Bill. “DON’T mix them up. Right now, it looks like I need to find this guy and get him out of the base before the bomb detonates.” Bill and Jeb then rushed to look for the pilot – whose name was Chuck Kerman – and then found him with 2 minutes 26 seconds left. With no time to lose, they convinced their target to follow them into a mini-bus and drove away with 19 seconds to spare.

“Um, where are we going?” Chuck asked the player character.

“Why are we taking a bus?” wondered Jeb. “Why not just steal a jet?”

“No oxygen, no blast,” said Bill. “The mushroom cloud will be isolated to the base until it’s engulfed, then it’s gone.” Shortly after, the timer reached zero and the base was vaporized.

“Wha… what happened?” questioned Chuck, then Jeb was given several options.

“Uh… it was a… circuit malfunction,” Jeb told his character to say.

“It looked more like a nuclear weapon explosion.”

“Look, dude, if I was going to blow up the base, I wouldn’t make it look like a nuclear weapon explosion, would I? I’d make it look like a circuit malfunction or something,” said Jeb.

“What kind of idiot to fall for that?” sighed Bill.

“Trishnova, did you blow it up?” asked Chuck.

“Okay, new plan,” said Jeb. “Darn right I did, foolish mortal. Soon, I will take over the Mun and nobody, not even you, can stop me. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!”

“Dude, the plan was to gain the love of this guy, not cause random mayhem,” reminded Bill.

“Why can’t I do both?”

“Why’d you pick a game with A GIRL as the main character?” wondered Bill. “You usually go with MALE characters.”

“I thought I could help Bob and Val out, since Sheri’s killer’s a woman,” sighed Jeb. “The doc could tell by the handprint size.”

“Well… it’s a long shot,” said Bill. “Knock yourself out, but don’t come crying to me if your weapon system malfunctions are due to negligence for basic safety procedures.”

“Unless it’s literally rocket science. You know how bad my rockets turned out in Human Space Program,” said Jeb

“Because you had no concept of thrust-to-weight ratios, structural OR aerodynamic stability, minimizing drag, or even calculating delta-V,” reminded Bill. “Your PLANES weren’t that much better due to the center of mass and lift placements being WAY off.”

“Speaking of planes, still no ideas why the moonjets were hacked?” wondered Jeb.

“I still believe 79 was rehearsal and 314 was the main act,” sighed Bill. “For 79, if all the killer wanted was to kill one or more occupant, why didn’t she just hit them BOTh in the head and steal the controls herself? At least that would pass off as pilot error better than a drill sticking out of the payload bay.”

“Remember, one of the witnesses Bob and Val talked to said that he saw Danlong get in the jet immediately after it landed for its next mission,” said Jeb. “We know she plugged in the virus, but we don’t know who she did it for and why.”

“Duh, practice.”

“Yes, but why THAT jet? Couldn’t she just sneak on board some random jet and hack that one instead of use it where everyone’s watching?”

“If a spacecraft crashed uncontrollably and one person – who’s NOT a fully-licensed pilot – was in it, people will start to blame you. If the crash happened with a ‘clearly negligent pilot’ on board, then they won’t suspect you.”

“But why Harriet’s jet? Since she was Val’s student, nobody would fall for the ‘she was texting and flying’ act.”

“Excellent point, since Val is famous – or, rather, INFAMOUS – for strict discipline among the students,” concurred Bill. “Then again, who could argue with timestamped messages? Additionally, if I had a teacher like that, I’d do everything she told us NOT to do by the time I was done with her.”

“I wouldn’t wait,” said Jeb.

“Of course you didn’t. You remember how many launches were delayed because you crashed your ships into the VAB? We almost went broke because of you.”

“And I cleaned up my act.”

“Even so, I’m still asking Commander Gustov to have Hadgan be the pod pilot for the trip to Dres,” argued Bill.

“Really, what does he have that I don’t?”

“Lower accident liability record, for starters.”

“Uh, he lost a leg… AND he was responsible for killing Agaden.”

“He lost his leg after YOU were flying, AND he was TRICKED by someone POSING as Mission Control.”

“Why him instead of the graduate?” inquired Jeb.

“Because the graduate’s new, and I know what kind of mayhem you’re capable of,” replied Bill. “Besides, he wants a chance to make up for what he was tricked into doing.”

“You know what’s more confusing than NOT letting an old friend fly the pod?” started Jeb. “Why would anyone from Laythe go through the trouble of hacking my jet and getting a student poisoned?”

“I think I can top that,” remarked Bill. “How come Misty’s house had craters on the walls while my debris scattered kilometers away?” He took out his own kPad to check his math. “The furthest east any survivin pieces should have gotten was at least 20 kilometers west of the target. So… even if the rocket worked as designed, I would have been off by a long shot – or worse, landed in the ocean. The poor trajectory planning was MY fault… which is why Val and I decided to take the plane option.”

“I understand why you didn’t let me pilot the rockets; I crashed your first prototype cluster-bombed the parking lot,” said Jeb, “but the plane? Why’d you have VAL fly it?”

“The last time I let you fly any of my planes WITHOUT your dad’s permission, I almost died,” answered Bill.

“Dude, it was just a toy spy car. What’s the worst that could have happened?”

“Uh, crashing it into someone’s house and killing everyone in it,” said Bill. “Not to mention you would have gotten spotted and shot down before it reached the drop zone?”

“What makes you say that?”

“You tend to fly high and fast; your engines will make too much noise at full throttle and flying too high meant you could be seen and/or detected by radar from kilometers away. VAL, on the other hand, had the discipline to fly in a stealth fashion until I dropped the probe on Woomerang’s practice field.”

“You’ve been flying with Val since fifth grade,” recalled Jeb, resuming his game. “Man, now my nuke didn’t work.”

“Let me guess, you got the blutonium isotopes mixed up?”

“No, I picked blutonium.”

“What’s the mass number?” asked Bill, leaving Jeb confused. “The number coming after the element name.”

“Let’s see… 238,” Jeb told him.

“Yeah, wrong blutonium isotope, nuke head. Why are you even going with the bombs?”

“Why not, nukes are KICK-ASS.”

“Jeb, you wanted to get into a criminal’s mind, do ya?” asked Bill, and Jeb nodded. “Try playing that game in CAREER mode.”

“Fine,” groaned Jeb, starting another save. “Aw, man. No nukes.”

“Then you’d better work your way up that tech tree,” suggested Bill. “Hopefully, by the time you get to unlocking the necessary materials, you’ll be more careful with what parts you put in and how you assemble them.”

“Or I could download the craft files online,” said Jeb. “You need a rest, dude. I got this.”

“I CAN’T rest. We need to get that pod fully gassed up before blasting off to Dres.”

“Hey, dude, if you worrying made the refueling ops go faster, we’d be done already,” assured Jeb. “Why the rush, anyway?”

“Our friends are… OW!” said Bill as a tennis ball hit him in the head.

“Sorry, sir,” said a male cadet floating behind him, retrieving the ball.

“At least the tennis ball won’t exert enough force on my head to cause any serious damage due to its mass,” replied Bill. “Likewise, in compliance with Newton’s Third Law of Motion, my head applied equal force to the ball.”

“So… you’re fine?” asked the cadet.

“Yes, I’m fine,” said Bill, then he floated to the airlocks and accessed his direct chat with Bob.

How’s it going?
	Still in Jool’s SOI, but we’ll be out in a couple of months.
It’s a large gas giant; of course you’re going to be in the SOI for a while.
	I figured out a way to secure your relationship with Val.
How? I won’t see her for ~9 years.
	I’ll give you pointers on how to get her: -       I have experience dating girls. -       I’ll be cooped in here with Val for 7 years, so she’s bound to let useful details slip.
	Irpond Kerman will help Val connect with you – she already knows about Val’s drunken confession.
Val and I have been direct-messaging very frequently lately.
	Perfect. With our help, you two should be a secure couple by the time you and Jeb arrive.
Who’s Irpond again?
	A software engineer who worked at Poseidon’s Palace – and a darn good one at that.
	With your help, she may even get Wally to talk.
Wait a second. Isn’t she Misty Kerman’s daughter?
	Yes, why?
I’m not sure I should trust her.
	What’s the problem?
1)    Call me prejudiced, but she’s the daughter of a murderer who got away with her crime. 2)    Why were there craters on the walls of her house if my debris was nowhere near the target? 3)    How can she (logically) accuse me of arson if my rocket couldn’t have hit the house OR combusted with the walls (or even penetrated them)? 4)    Why was there no mention of incoming space debris in the arson investigator’s file? 5)    She and/or her mom tried to frame Val for coerced RTG theft
	Now that you mention it, a lot of us in town were starting to install anti-aircraft radar around the time.
Really? Then how come my debris wasn’t logged
	1)    It is possible that those systems didn’t go online until after the fire. 2)    They may not have been designed for incoming suborbital debris (too small to get detected) 3)    The cops ignored it as you couldn’t have hit Misty’s house.
But wouldn’t they know who my target was from the heading?
	I can name at least ten others in Woomerang whose houses required the same heading as Misty when launching from your house. -       Nobody else reported debris.
	Then again, it’s possible they either didn’t have radar or just had theirs turned off.
But if nobody saw it coming, why were there holes in the walls – and with such precision too?
	Irpond and I think it was A WOMAN IN THE STAFF of Woomerang Institute that caused the fire 22 years ago and shot Sally.
What makes you think that?
	A)   Sally knew her. B)   Sally had to have a staff meeting before getting approval for this project, meaning that they would know when and where Sally was going à getting her flight number. C)   Woomerang teachers DEFINITELY have the knowhow to sabotage Matt’s box-wing jet (but didn’t expect Sally to miss that flight) D)   Sally would have informed Woomerang staff about the alteration in the experiment procedure (bringing a second model into orbit), so they would know to meet her at KSC when she landed. E)   Some of the current staff members are old enough to have committed arson 22 years ago (most likely a woman, since I saw women talk trash about Misty a lot more than the men did) F)    There’s a lucky chance one of them saw the debris coming the day of the fire but didn’t report it.
Or Misty started it herself and killed Sally to keep her mouth shut
	Then how did she know Sally was flying to Baikerbanur?
Irpond could have told her.
	I guess, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Irpond knew Misty committed arson (if at all).
	She claimed she AND her mom were nowhere near the house at the time.
Then she’s lying, just like she lied when she claimed Val had crooks take Misty hostage and force Irpond to steal the RTG.
	You’re just mad because she happened to suspect Val of murder, aren’t you? Don’t forget you were on that boat too.
	Also, for all you know, someone else kidnapped Misty and PRETENDED to be Val’s henchman
Then why was Sally killed after she started to experiment with my rocket? Don’t forget that the airliner crash was like Debra Kerman 29 years ago (vehicular sabotage). -       Not to mention that Irpond was on-base with the plane’s designer, Matt Kerman
	Matt keeps his designs locked at all times.
Are you willing to bet she can’t hack into them?
	If Val had reason not to trust Irpond, she wouldn’t have let her get on the pod with us. -       Same case for the higher-ups.
	It’s too late now to change her mind.
Drat.
Just keep an eye on her.
	Does she have permission to mess with Wally so he can talk?
No 1)    There’s no point; Wally’s useless in microgravity (ask again when you get to Dres) 2)    Val may trust her enough to bring her on board, but I don’t. 3)    Nobody touches Wally’s brain but me.
	1 and 3 make sense, but 2 is just prejudice. I thought we were screened to not have it.
	Besides, what is Val gonna do, toss her out the airlock? Even if Irpond was in an EVA suit, Val would be facing serious charges. -       We’d also get a pass on mutiny if she does it.
	I’d say bring it up with Val yourself, but I would rather you not start a serious relationship with arguments (that comes later).
Just be careful.
By the way, Jeb downloaded Psycho Simulator earlier today.
	Why would he do that? I thought that the main character was a psychopathic female.
He said he wanted to “enter the mind of our killer.”
	Makes sense, seeing how it’s a stealth action/physics-based mission game.   On the other hand, this game’s storyline intertwines two separate events going on now into one. -       Sheri’s killer’s a woman, like the protagonist. -       Vehicular sabotage is a useful murder method, like with Moonjet 79 and 314.
	You can also shoot people in the game, just like our killer on Laythe
Wait, you play it?
	No, Sheri used to before she died.
Just out of curiosity, did she try to craft nuclear bombs with blutonium-238
	Yes – and her RTGs blew up when she had blutonium-239 in them -       She got better with her nukes when I told her about the isotopes.   Why’d you bring up nukes?
Because Jeb was trying to construct nukes – and did a terrible job at it too.

 

“Ugh, I dunno why my text positions flip-flopped, but I’m gonna check it out,” said Bill, realizing what had happened with his direct messaging page. “At least I was able to talk to Bob.”

“Yo, Bill!” shouted Jeb, then Bill floated to him.

“What is it?” asked Bill.

“I’m installed a new battery for the mini-bus, but it’s not working,” explained Jeb, pointing at a stopped mini-bus on his kPad.

“Well, is it fully charged?”

“Yes.”

Bill sighed. “Did you place the positive end at the positive port and the negative end at the negative port?” Jeb tapped on the bus’ battery compartment and saw that the ports were switched.

“Oh… that would do it, huh.” Bill then facepalmed himself.

“And I thought you had mastered battery placement at age 15.”

“Okay, the bus is working,” said Jeb. “Where’s the nitro?”

“Jeb, it’s an electric rover. Why would you need a nitrous oxide engine?” Bill questioned.

“Because it’s AWESOME,” said Jeb.

“Hang on,” said Bill as he accessed the accident report archives. “15 years ago, someone on Minmus thought it would be fun to modify a mini-bus with a nitrous oxide engine. Two died and three were injured as a result of the explosion.”

“PERFECT!” shouted Jeb. “Thanks, dude. Now, the Mun shall be mine!”

“Good luck finding a nitrous oxide engine on the Mun,” Bill replied. “They were forbidden in repair kits since the accident.”

“Dude, it’s just a game,” said Jeb. “It could have a nitro hidden somewhere, or a recipe for one.”

“Jeb, you heard what I said; installing a ‘nitro’ on an electric rover is dangerous.”

“I know. Perfect bombing method, right?”

“Bomb?” gasped Bill. “Well, I suppose you can try… wait a minute. You said that you can sabotage vehicles in this game?”

“Yes,” said Jeb. “However, I’m going for explosions.”

“Why’s that?”

“If it doesn’t blow up when you start it, you can bail out,” explained Jeb.

“Does that look familiar?”

“Yeah, every time I flew something,” sighed Jeb.

“No, the moonjet hackings,” said Bill. “Just who DEVELOPED this game?

[roboslacker]

Sounds like we're coming to the end.